NCAA set to grant year back to spring sports athletes |
| - Friday, March 13, 2020, 1:35 PM |
The NCAA canceled spring sports competitions on Thursday due to the growing threat of COVID-19 (or coronavirus).
That may not affect the eligibility status of the athletes who started but didn't get to finish out the year on their respective playing field. The NCAA is set to bring some good news for spring sports athletes. The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach first reported Thursday that an NCAA note said "it will be appropriate to grant relief for the use of a season for competition for student-athletes who have participated in spring sports." Auerbach said the NCAA "will start working on issues tied to this and winter athletes" as well. An NCAA statement Friday afternoon said it "encourages conferences and schools to make decisions and take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities. In addition, the NCAA Board of Governors directs Divisions I, II and III to consider necessary adjustments to or waivers of rules where appropriate." An NCAA letter on winter sports said this per Yahoo's Pete Thamel: "The committee will also discuss issues related to seasons of competition for winter sport student-athletes who were unable to participate in conference and NCAA championships. The committee recognizes that student-athletes are making life decisions that will be helped by understanding whether an additional season of competition would be available, and as such, will work in a timely manner to make informed decisions. Finally, the committee will review and discuss the additional issues in a timely manner and decisions will be communicated to the membership as they are made." Clemson baseball played 17 games before the NCAA ruling, while softball's debut campaign went 27. While the NCAA championships are canceled, the ACC's last word was that its sports are "suspended" until further notice. The NCAA also installed a temporary dead period in all sports until "at least" April 15, which will make it not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off-campus or permit official or unofficial visits by prospects to each school's campus. Per source, NCAA sent a note to membership today saying it believes "it will be appropriate to grant relief for the use of a season for competition for student-athletes who have participated in spring sports." The NCAA’s Council Coordination Committee has agreed to grant relief for the use of a season of competition for student-athletes who have participated in spring sports. NCAA letter to membership on winter sports: "The committee will also discuss issues related to seasons of competition for winter sport student-athletes who were unable to participate in conference and NCAA championships..." The letter continues: "Finally, the committee will review and discuss the additional issues in a timely manner and decisions will be communicated to the membership as they are made." So, baseball players, as expected, are getting a year of eligibility back. The most likely scenario here is getting rid of the 27 players on scholarship cap (for one year) and getting rid of the 25% minimum rule (for one year). We’ll see what the @NCAA decides.
NCAA will start working on issues tied to this & winter athletes.
Committee will also discuss issues for winter sport student-athletes.
