NCAA Board of Directors approves eligibility protection for fall athletes

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The NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors has approved additional protections and eligibility blanket waivers for fall athletes, the NCAA announced Friday. The NCAA Division I Council recommended the change last week.

Athletes who opt out, have their season cut short due to COVID-19 or appear in all games during the 2020 season will be awarded either an extension to their five-year eligibility period or an additional season of eligibility. Graduating seniors who return next fall won’t count against scholarship limits.

“In this time of uncertainty, the Council members are working to create additional flexibility for college athletes whose seasons have been negatively impacted by the pandemic,” NCAA Council Chair M. Grace Calhoun said in an Aug. 12 release. 

Fall sport athletes now have similar options to athletes from the spring, who were given an extra year of eligibility after conferences canceled seasons and championships March 12. At Syracuse, 21 spring athletes announced their intention to use that added year.

As of Friday, Cooper Dawson, a redshirt freshman and defensive lineman, was the only SU player to opt out of the fall season.

“Every day things are changing in college sport, and we want to be as responsive as possible, with the best information, to help student-athletes and their families make important decisions for their future,” Calhoun said.