NCAA Extends Eligibility for D1 Winter Sport Athletes

The NCAA Division 1 council announced on Wednesday afternoon that will be granting an additional year of eligibility to all winter sport athletes who compete during the 2020-21 season.

The extension is the same additional eligibility extended to those impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic this past spring.

DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes: https://t.co/ysjyYmt3Jz pic.twitter.com/4DvhAjNvOo
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) October 14, 2020

“The pandemic will continue to impact winter sport seasons in ways we can’t predict. Council members opted to provide for winter sport student-athletes the same flexibility given spring and fall sports previously,” council chair M. Grace Calhoun said in a statement prepared by the NCAA. “The actions today ensure the continuation of local decision-making in the best interest of each institution and its student-athletes.”

In addition to the increased eligibility, the NCAA also announced that schools will not be required to sponsor the minimum number of required sports to maintain membership.

This same membership requirement is also waived for multi-sport conferences for the upcoming seasons.

In what was obviously a busy day for the Division 1 council, it was also proposed that all athletes be able to transfer schools and maintain immediate eligibility once during their time in college.

DI Council proposal would expand transfer exception: https://t.co/NUp4XVIcP7 pic.twitter.com/4G8kLX7eGI
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) October 14, 2020

The proposal expands the one-time transfer proposal to all sports.

“This proposal creates a uniform, equitable approach for all student-athletes, no matter the sport they play,” said working group chair Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference and vice chair of the Council. “We believe the proposal fulfills the promise of the transfer resolution adopted by the Council in the spring, and trust the membership will strongly consider bringing consistency and predictability to Division I transfer regulations while treating student-athletes across all sports alike and in a sensible fashion.”

The proposal includes a requirement that both the head coach and the athlete must provide evidence that no tampering took place over the transfer process.

The council is slated to vote on the new transfer proposal at the 2021 NCAA Convention in January.