NCAA extends eligibility for spring D-I athletes
Local alums happy, relieved as NCAA extends eligibility for Division I spring athletes
For collegiate athletes, spring 2020 had become the lost season. The NCAA’s Division I Council has now allowed them to get that season back.
The Council voted Monday to allow schools to self-apply an additional year of eligibility to spring sports athletes who lost their campaign to the coronavirus outbreak. The ruling applies to both seniors and underclassmen. There had been some speculation that the Council would initially give the extra year only to seniors who had “clocked out” (four seasons of competition in five years).
“I’m glad that the decision went that way. Everybody deserves the year back,” Kingston High graduate Tyler Kelder said. “I’m glad that they gave it to everyone.”
Because the winter regular season had been completed, those athletes will not get an extension. There has been no decision made yet regarding Division II and III spring athletes.
For many area D-I athletes, — including former Kingston baseball teammates Fritz Genther, Avery Short and Kelder — it is welcome news. Short and Kelder are finishing their junior years at Si
ena and St. Bonaventure, respectively. Genther was early into his freshman year at Virginia Tech.
Baseball is the only sport with a roster limit, but the Council voted to increase the limit for student-athletes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, golf, track and field, and men’s tennis are all included in the decision.
“It’s a crazy situation with everything going on. To have everybody lose a year like that, being able to get it back is awesome, because I know there’s a lot of guys whose season were cut short and, after all the hard work,” Short said. “In a very bad situation, this is the best thing that could have happened.”
The Council had to hammer out many details before making the announcement. It has adjusted financial aid rules to allow teams to carry more on scholarship to accommodate incoming recruits plus fifthyear seniors. Each school and sport will make its own determination on the level of scholarship for returning seniors, but the colleges can tap into the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund to help pay for those athletes.
One detail not yet decided is what the academic requirements will be for a fifth-year senior.
“I talked to a lot of seniors and juniors that were being impacted. A lot are really excited. They get an extra year of leverage, although the (Major League Baseball) draft might be shorter this year, they get another chance to get a junior or senior year,” Genther said.
“We had a lot of guys who might or might not get drafted. They were kind of shellshocked when the season was canceled. For them to get another chance is really big.”
“It’s huge. I can go back to school in the fall and, athletically, I’ll be a junior again,” Kelder remarked. “That’s huge considering my season got taken away. I can finish my degree with a year to play.