NCAA Division III cancels fall championships

The NCAA Board of Governors on Wednesday directed each division of the association to decide independently by Aug. 21 whether it will be able to conduct championship events safely in fall sports such as soccer, volleyball and lower levels of football during the coronavirus pandemic.

The association’s highest governing body had been considering what to do about NCAA fall championship events, but instead of making a broad decision across three divisions, it set parameters for each to make its own call.

Within hours of the board’s announcement, the Division III presidents council canceled fall sports championships and determined they will not be made up in the spring.

That decision does not affect several of the local Division III schools. The Atlantic East Conference (Cabrini and Neumann), the Centennial Conference (Haverford and Swarthmore) and the Middle Atlantic Conference (Eastern and Widener) already canceled their fall sports seasons.

According to the board’s decision, at least 50% of teams competing in a fall sport in any division must conduct a regular season this fall for a championship to be held.

Championships may use reduced fields of teams or competitors in individual sports and either predetermined sites or a single-site format to deal with COVID-19.

The board emphasized that all fall sports activity, whether it be preseason practices, regular-season games or postseason national championship tournaments, must follow the NCAA’s return-to-sport guidelines.

Newly independent Connecticut became the first major college football program to cancel its season because of COVID-19 disruptions.

The NCAA board also said schools must honor an athlete’s scholarship if the athlete opts out of the coming season because of concerns about COVID-19, and it directed each division to determine no later than Aug. 14 whether opting-out athletes could retain a year of eligibility.