The NCAA Division Board has recommended the Division I Board of Directors to adopt new protections for student-athletes with seasons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA announced Wednesday. The recommendations are expected to be finalized on August 21st.
“In this time of uncertainty, Councilors are working to create additional flexibility for college athletes whose seasons have been negatively impacted by the pandemic,” said Council President M. Grace Calhoun, director of athletics in Pennsylvania. “Every day things change in college sports, and we want to be as responsive as possible, with the best information, to help student-athletes and their families make important decisions for their future. The Council worked hard today and will receive input for membership before we will make definitive recommendations to the board next week.
The NCAA announced in the release in addition that the recruiting dead period has been extended through Sept. 30, 2020. The dead period was introduced in March and had already been extended several previous times for the latest announcement. The dead period forbids personal recruitment and evaluations from place to place.
Per the NCAA, the board of directors required each division last week “to adjust rules to support student-athletes whose seasons are affected by COVID-19, similar to decisions made for student-athletes of pre-sport.” The board also recommended the board “provide student athletes for fall sports who participate and then opt for future participation or have a season short due to COVID-19 an extension of their five-year eligibility period and an additional season of competition if they participate in 50% or less of the maximum number of competitions allowed in each sport by Division I rules, “per the release.
Furthermore, the NCAA, conferences and individual schools will also be allowed to provide an academic or graduate award as an incentive that has a value up to the maximum value of awards that an individual student-athlete could receive in one season. The information, which is directly effective, is applied to basketball for men and women and student-athletes of Football Bowl Subdivision, per the NCAA.
The NCAA’s latest release comes on the heels of Power 5 conferences announcing plans for Fall 2020. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have opted to postpone until Spring 2021, while the Big 12, SEC and ACC are moving forward with fall competition as of now. Earlier on Wednesday, the NCAA announced that it had set up a hotline to address any concerns about student-athletes returning to competition amid the health crisis.
NCAA athletics have been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March, when conference basketball tournaments and then all NCAA spring and winter championships were canceled due to the health crisis. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, better known as March Madness, was not played for the first time since its inception in 1939 as a result.
