Yeshiva University basketball team won't play on Shabbat

Athletic director says working with organizers to reschedule Saturday’s game to accommodate Modern Orthodox institution

After making it to the NCAA Division III basketball tournament, Yeshiva University is now working with the college sports organization to ensure their first game will not be held on Shabbat, as it is currently scheduled, the school’s athletic director said Tuesday.

“They are keenly aware of our restrictions – they’ve been talking about how to accommodate us since at least Saturday evening,” Yeshiva University athletic director Joe Bednarsh told The Times of Israel.

An initial version of the schedule for the college basketball tournament shows the Modern Orthodox institution’s team squaring off against York University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, which would conflict with the players’ ability to observe Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.

This is the first time in the school’s history that it made it to the national basketball tournament, known collectively as March Madness.

Bednarsh says the published schedule is not final and will likely be changed later today.

“We are not going to be playing on Shabbat,” he said, in an email.

Gabriel Leiter of Yeshiva University drives on a Purchase College defender in the Skyline Conference championship game, February 25, 2018. (Courtesy of Yeshiva University via JTA)

Bednarsh stressed his appreciation for the international response to the Yeshiva University basketball team’s story.

“People have been reaching out to me about this team from Thailand, South Africa, Argentina, Israel, England and more,” he said on Monday, after their victory. “The Maccabees are truly the pride of the Jewish people.”

On Sunday, the Maccabees defeated Purchase College, 87-81, in Purchase, New York, to win the Skyline Conference championship and earn an automatic berth into the national tournament.

“There is nothing much to say. We are champs,” head coach Elliot Steinmetz said in an interview posted on the Maccabees’ website. “These kids worked hard, stayed the course through everything all season, and now we are champs forever. What a moment!”

The Maccabees defeated the regular season conference champion, Farmingdale State, in overtime in the semifinals.

Division III member institutions do not offer scholarships to their student-athletes.

JTA contributed to this report.