The board of directors of NCAA Division I voted Friday to give all fallout student athletes an extra year of eligibility and an extra year to complete it through a low consideration.
The move eliminates a cloud of uncertainty for athletes in the fall sports whose seasons have been delayed or may be disrupted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The extra year of eligibility, recommended earlier this week to the Board of Directors by the Board of Directors of the NCAA’s ICA Division, was just one of several decisions Friday was intended to further protect student-athletes COVID-19 of the time.
The board also ruled Friday that schools may not require student-athletes to waive their legal rights regarding COVID-19 as a condition of participation. Schools are also prohibited from terminating or reducing scholarships if an athlete decides not to participate due to COVID-19.
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, who chairs the Football Oversight Committee, said the top question he has received from student-athletes is regarding their fitness in a season of uncertainty.
“By providing clarity and removing that uncertainty from their minds is something that will be very beneficial as we move forward,” Lyons said. “Having no normal season, not that normal 20 games in football, or 28 games in volleyball, and even football not sure what that season will look like, that was the No. 1 concern that the student- athletes had, it was a piece of eligibility. “
Although Lyons called it a win for the student-athletes, he acknowledged that it could be difficult to manage scholarships and rosters of future teams.
“We need to see what was right for the student-athlete for this situation,” Lyons said. “The eligibility piece, without question in my mind, this is a win for them. As managers, as coaches, we’ll have to deal with a potential backlog at the back end, but I’m very confident that we ‘have it on an annual basis in other situations done.It may be larger numbers, but we can work this through with the normal attrition you have on your rosters, such as discussions with athletes over the coming years about their playing time and their interest in potentially transferring to other institutions.
“It all works out. We had to look at what was in front of us today, and that takes care of the athletes on our rosters right now.”
The board of directors also made a pledge to Division I on Friday to work after hosting “upscale fall championships in the spring.” Board members warned that fall championships should only be played in the spring if they can be safely conducted and in compliance with federal, state and local health guidelines. Any final decisions on bracket size and composition will be approved by the board.
The NCAA said in a release that the priority remains to “maintain opportunities for student athletes of winter and spring sports who do not have the opportunity to participate in the NCAA Championships in 2019-20.
“We want to provide opportunities for student-athletes whenever possible,” said Acting Board President Denise Trauth, President of Texas State. “We understand that it will be complicated and different, and we are not sure what it will look like. But we believe it is important to try to give students that championship experience.”
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