NCAA Board Extends Eligibility For Fall Sport Athletes

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NCAA Board Extends Eligibility For Fall Sport Athletes

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On Friday, the NCAA Division I Council came together to decide whether to allow college student-athletes another season of eligibility.

The council came to a decision to allow a blanket waiver for all fall-sport athletes to compete another year. Corona-virus has continued to effect sports this year, and collegiate sports have been hit especially hard. The loss of a football and basketball season meant the loss of a big chunk of revenue for many schools. As a result, many programs have pushed for a season at the detriment of their athletes.

This decision will relieve the pressure on student-athletes who are not guaranteed a season this year. This blanket waiver allows students to maintain their eligibility status going into the next year. Even if their school chooses to have a season, athletes can compete with no limits to the number of games they participate in.

Additionally, these extensions on eligibility will not count against the given scholarship count of a sports program. This means that future incoming classes will not lose their chance to attain an athletic scholarship. However, it should be noted that even with this eligibility extension, it is up to each program to allow their athletes to return.

This decision is just one of many to come out of Friday’s meeting to protect student-athletes.

The council also announced that schools cannot infringe on student-athletes’ legal right to refuse to participate due to corona-virus. Schools also cannot choose to take away or minimize a student-athlete’s scholarship if they decide to opt-out of a season due to corona-virus.

These decisions are a relief for student-athletes everywhere, as there was a recent corona-virus up-tick in June specifically with student-athletes. Seasons had been starting up too early, athletes were pressured to return to training, and new safety regulations were not enough to prevent the spread of the virus. These new regulations by the NCAA will put the best interests of the student-athlete first.

 

 

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