Public Safety is tracking a significant snowfall that will be arriving in our area late Sunday morning (Jan. 25). It will snow heavily throughout the day and evening eventually tapering off Monday (Jan. 26) with 10-14 inches expected statewide. A sleet and freezing rain mix is also possible along the shore. Temperatures will be in the teens and twenties.
Due to this significant winter storm and the extensive campus clean-up operations that will need to take place, all in-person day and evening classes scheduled for Monday, January 26, 2026 have been cancelled. All scheduled in-person classes will transition to being held online or remotely. Additional information on the virtual format for each class will be provided by your instructor.
Faculty have been asked to prepare for Online or Remote sessions in the event of in-person meeting cancellations. These options will be determined by the Faculty member and all questions should be directed to the Faculty teaching each course section. Faculty also have been asked to be very understanding and accommodating of the individual situations of their students who may have difficulty managing these alternative online or remote class meetings on short notice.
Please note that only essential employees, as previously determined by their respective department leaders, should report to campus. All other employees should fulfill the requirements of their role remotely.
Campus operations for residential students, unless otherwise noted, will operate as scheduled, though hours may be modified or changed based on the conditions. Separate messages will be sent from the Peterson Library, the Beckerman Recreation Center, and Dining Services regarding any changes to their normal hours of operation. The Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation will remain open for residential students to use for study space and to participate in online classes.
Off-campus students that live in the City of West Haven should abide by the city’s parking ban during inclement weather to avoid having their vehicle tagged and towed. Please check the City of West Haven’s website for further information on their snow parking ban.
The Charger Blog
After conducting a series of studies, sport management faculty members Gil Fried and Ceyda Mumcu determined that the buffer zones around basketball courts should be larger to ensure the safety of athletes. Their findings are scoring them points in the industry.
July 8, 2019
As a sport attorney with nearly 30 years of experience, Gil Fried has handled many injury cases in which athletes or fans have been hurt when players have gone out of bounds on the basketball court. In some cases, these injuries have been serious – leaving individuals paraplegics or quadriplegics.
Fried noticed that the rules governing the size of basketball court buffer zones in athletic facilities seemed arbitrary – some required a minimum buffer zone of three feet while others required 10 feet. His background research confirmed that there were, in fact, no rules governing how these requirements were determined. He says this is especially concerning for smaller facilities, such as high school gymnasiums or recreational facilities, although it has been an issue at professional venues as well.
"It indicates that there is a big need for facilities to examine what they’re doing and if they’re providing a safe environment for people."Gil Fried, J.D.
"At the NBA level, where there’s a larger playing area for the game, fans are often right on the court," said Fried, chair of the University’s Sport Management department. "There have been a number of instances where people – including LeBron James – have gotten injured because they were heading out of bounds and they ran into somebody. It can be dangerous for the players and for the fans."
Teaming up with Ceyda Mumcu, assistant professor of sport management and a former professional basketball player, and Dan Liu, a physics professor at the University of Hartford, Fried conducted three studies. The researchers wanted to explore the average size of existing buffer zones, survey coaches to determine the mechanics of how athletes go out of bounds, and determine how players move during a game and how long it takes them to stop when they are headed out of bounds.
The researchers recruited several students to play a basketball game and put markers around the court to measure how far athletes went out of bounds. They analyzed their speed with radar guns and used force plates to measure their strength. They found that athletes need at least three steps before they can stop, and they found that a minimum of 5.2 feet is needed for an appropriate buffer zone.
"It is fulfilling to have an opportunity to contribute to creating a safer playing field for fellow basketball players."Ceyda Mumcu, Ph.D.
"That dispels the three-foot minimum that is commonly used in rules and regulations," said Fried. "In other words, it indicates that there is a big need for facilities to examine what they’re doing and if they’re providing a safe environment for people. Perhaps they need to redraw lines or change how the court or the seats around it are configured."
Their research is gaining some traction, including attention from Athletic Business, an industry publication with approximately 40,000 subscribers. Fried says the research suggests that more studies are also needed in other areas, such as how much space should be required behind a treadmill.
For now, the researchers are trying to get the word out in an effort to make sports safer, an issue that, for Mumcu, is personal.
"As a former professional basketball player, I had a serious injury as a result of a lack of buffer zone space," Mumcu said. "Athletes have short career spans, and staying healthy is essential to performing to one’s highest potential and to pursuing the profession. It is fulfilling to have an opportunity to contribute to creating a safer playing field for fellow basketball players."
University News
New University-wide council will advance strategic partnerships, immersive student opportunities, and innovative research, supporting the University’s strategic plan the development of its pioneering Center for Innovation and Applied Technology.
The Charger Blog
Entrepreneur David Sussman, Pompea College of Business Advisory Board Member and chief visionary officer of The Family Security Plan®, is collaborating with University of New Haven students, faculty, and staff to create a program and app that helps Chargers support each other to achieve academic, personal, and professional goals. It’s called Uccountability.
University News
Vice President for Innovation and Applied Technology Paul Lavoie will serve on the Board of Directors and as America’s Chief Manufacturing Officer for the newly launched American Manufacturing Futures Institute.