NCAA cancels most fall championships
The NCAA on Thursday called off fall championship events — a move that does not affect major college football — because not enough schools will be competing in sports such as men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball during the first semester.
NCAA president Mark Emmert made the announcement in a video posted on Twitter, but it has been clear this was coming as more and more conferences canceled fall sports seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sadly, tragically that’s going to be the case this fall. Full stop,” Emmert said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t and can’t turn toward winter and spring and say, ‘How can we create a legitimate championship for those students?’ There are ways to do this.’’
Emmert said the NCAA would prioritize championships for winter and spring sports because those were canceled when COVID-19 first hit the United States in March.
The highest tier of Division I football is not impacted. The College Football Playoff is run by the conferences, and six of those leagues still intend to play a season.
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