The NCAA’s two lower levels will not have fall sports championships this year due to COVID-19. Division II’s Presidents Council announced Wednesday afternoon that there would be no fall sports titles awarded . Now this decision doesnt mean that conferences cant still play, there would just be no national championship tournament in each sport. The MIAA was already scheduled to meet on Thursday and this issue is expected to be brought up. Earlier this summer, the MIAA had expressed a strong desire to play fall sports. Todays decision came for Division Two came after Division III made the same announcement.
“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” South Carolina Aiken president Sandra Jordan said in an NCAA statement. “This decision was discussed very thoroughly, and I assure you, it was not made lightly. It is important to note that fall student-athletes will be given eligibility-related flexibility to allow them championship opportunities in the future. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on providing the best championships experience for our winter and spring student-athletes who were not afforded those opportunities at the beginning of this pandemic.”
One of the biggest reasons given for cancelling the fall championships is that 11 of the 23 Division II conferences had already announced they wouldn’t have fall sports this season.
