Athletics department, ACC postpone upcoming events

Due to the national tragedy that occurred Tuesday morning in New York City and Washington D.C., the Duke athletics department decided to cancel last night's planned volleyball match between the undefeated Blue Devils and intrastate rival East Carolina. In addition, all games for every Duke sports team scheduled to take place between today and Friday have been postponed with no information about rescheduling available.

"Out of respect for the tragedy that our country endured today and out of concern for the security of our student-athletes, the Duke University Athletic Association has postponed several sporting events this week," Duke Athletics Director Joe Alleva said in a statement. "The thoughts and prayers of the entire Duke University Athletic Association are with the victims and their families."

Alleva also declared that the Duke-Clemson football game, which is supposed to kickoff at 1 p.m. Saturday in Clemson's Memorial Stadium, has not yet been canceled. However, he said that a decision as to whether the game will take place will be made in conjunction with the ACC and Clemson officials.

As for athletic events over the next few days, the men's soccer match at Clemson, the women's soccer game at San Diego, the field hockey game versus Wake Forest and the volleyball match against Central Florida, which takes place in Madison, Wisc., have been postponed to Friday.

Furthermore, Duke's volleyball contests Saturday against Cincinnati and Wisconsin have been postponed to a later date, while the women's soccer team's game at San Diego State slated for Sunday has been canceled as well.

Finally, the ACC has postponed all athletic events until Friday, including two football games scheduled for Thursday. The only event that has been rescheduled is the Ohio-N.C. State football game, which has been moved to Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. ACC Commissioner John Swofford has arranged a conference call with league officials today at noon to discuss future ACC athletic events.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic events of this morning," Swofford said. "All nine member institutions are in agreement that the next couple of days should be a time for reflection and prayers for the families who are involved in this tragedy. Our concerns are for the safety of our participants and fans, both in travel and assembly, and respect for the aftermath of these terrible events. We will continue to seek advice and counsel from our schools and state, local and national authorities in regard to future scheduled events."