NCAA grants winter sport athletes additional year of eligibility
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The NCAA Division I Council has voted to give winter sport athletes an additional year of eligibility. The additional year will be granted regardless of if an athlete plays this winter, according to The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach. Athletes who opt out of the winter season will still be awarded an additional year of eligibility.
The NCAA's Division I Council has voted to give an additional year of eligibility to winter-sport athletes, source told @TheAthletic. Just like fall-sport athletes. Doesn't matter how much or little anyone plays.
— Nicole Auerbach ? (@NicoleAuerbach) October 14, 2020
Auerbach later explained in a tweet the NCAA determined that although athletes might play a certain amount of games this year, the experience will not be the same as it would be during a normal season. She noted that team schedules will most likely include a decrease in games played.
The thinking here is that these athletes, even if they play X amount of games, won't be getting the experience they signed up for. Also, it's obviously quite likely different teams will end up playing different amounts of games. https://t.co/nJQhqnqTBU
— Nicole Auerbach ? (@NicoleAuerbach) October 14, 2020
Last month, the NCAA announced that the college basketball season would be delayed. The 2020 season will begin on Nov. 25 with teams scheduling up to 25 games this season; 13 games are needed to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament.
The decision to grant an additional year of eligibility extends comes after the NCAA granted an extra year for spring and fall sport athletes due to the impact and risk of COVID-19.
