NCAA to grant additional year to spring athletes after cancellation

Just a day after canceling winter and spring championships because of the spread of the coronavirus, the NCAA announced Friday it would extend eligibility for Division I spring athletes whose season was cut short.

The move, announced in a social media post, will allow athletes in their last year of eligibility to participate again next year. Still unclear is whether winter athletes will also be granted the extra year or if the move will also extend to Division II and Division III athletes.

“Council leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for Division I student-athletes who participated in sports,” the NCAA statement said. “Details of eligibility relief will be finalized at a later time. Additional issues with NCAA rules must be addressed, and appropriate governance bodies will work through those in the coming days and weeks.”

The move came amid calls for the NCAA to somehow allow spring athletes to continue their college careers. Even before the NCAA canceled winter and spring championships, conferences were halting the spring season. The Ivy League was first, calling off the spring season earlier in the week.

In an ESPN interview Thursday, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma advocated for giving both winter and spring athletes an added year. On a conference call with reporters Friday, Auriemma clarified his view.

“I was reminded after the fact that if you were already knocked out of the NCAA Tournament, should those seniors be able to come back?” Auriemma said. “If you didn’t qualify for the NCAA tournament but your tournament got canceled, and you never had the chance to compete in your conference tournament to give yourself a chance to get into the NCAA Tournament because you were on the bubble, should those seniors be able to come back? I don’t know how they would even be addressed, and if it is, how that will be rectified.

“I do know in my heart that every single studentathlete in the country whose sport was canceled and never had a chance to play this spring, no question they should be allowed to have an extra year of eligibility. If that screws up people’s rosters, then that should be an exception. Make an exception, ‘Ok, you can only have X number of people on scholarship. Well,these are exceptional times, so let’s make an exception. Well, the school can’t afford it, fine let the NCAA pay for it.’ I just think that if you never had a chance to play the entire season, that’s different.”

The decision will impact such sports as baseball, softball and lacrosse.T he

Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association announced Friday it would also grant waivers to allow every 2020 player to have an extra year of eligibility.

Given roster are built based on the number of available scholarships, the NCAA will need to address roster sizes and scholarship allocations. Schools may also be faced with the financial burden of added scholarships.

MORE CANCELLATIONS

The Northeast Conference officially announced Friday that it was canceling all competition — conference and non-conference — for the remainder of the spring season. The conference, which includes Sacred Heart and Central, also announced a moratorium on all on-campus and offcampus in-person recruiting activities until further notice . ... Wesleyan canceled all athletic activities, including practices and games, for the rest of the spring season. The move comes after the NESCAC announced all conference play was halted for the remainder of the season. Wesleyan also announced that Freeman Athletic Center will close effective Monday . ... Western Connecticut State also canceled all spring sports activity Friday.