NCAA Division I Council grants extended eligibility to spring athletes affected by COVID-19 crisis

The NCAA Division I Council ruled Monday in favor of eligibility relief for athletes affected by spring sport cancellations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ruling applies to all classes, granting seniors an added year of eligibility and preventing underclassmen from losing the season, the NCAA said in a news release. It also relaxed financial aid and roster limitations to allow schools to carry more scholarship athletes in 2021 to account for incomers and returners.

But it did not guarantee financial aid.

"The Council’s decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level,” Penn athletics director and council chairwoman M. Grace Calhoun said in the release. “The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that.”

The committee gave institutions the financial flexibility to match, lower or eliminate the scholarship aid for any returning senior athletes who would have exhausted eligibility this season. Schools can use the NCAA’s Student Assistance Fund to pay for additional scholarship needs for those who take advantage of the extension in 2020-21.

The ruling also removed baseball's roster limit, which was 35, to account for added athletes.

The ruling did not pertain to winter sports athletes.

"Council members declined to extend eligibility for student-athletes in sports where all or much of their regular seasons were completed," according to the release. 

The NCAA canceled winter and spring sport championships – including the NCAA Tournament and College World Series – on March 12. The SEC canceled all regular-season athletic competitions and postseason tournaments through the academic year on March 17, affecting Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

The NCAA announced on March 13 that “council leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports.” 

The decisions of the Division I Council are subject to review by the Division I Board of Directors, a group of school presidents.

Giving an additional season of eligibility to seniors on spring-sports teams could cost public schools in the Power 5 conferences anywhere from $500,000 to $900,000, according to a USA Today analysis.

The NCAA announced Thursday it would reduce its direct distribution to Division I conferences and schools for 2020 by about $375 million to $225 million.

Schools also are facing uncertain revenue from donations, ticket sales and television deals. The possibility of the fall football season being affected also looms, which would have a radical effect on schools' finances. 

Memphis fields 10 spring sports with baseball, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf as well as men's and women's rifle.

Vanderbilt has baseball, women's bowling, women's lacrosse, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's tennis as well as men's and women's golf.

Tennessee has baseball, softball, rowing, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's tennis as well as men's and women's golf.

Middle Tennessee State has baseball, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's and women's tennis as well as men's and women's golf.

Austin Peay has baseball, softball, beach volleyball, women's track and field, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's golf.