NCAA Board of Directors: Fall Athletes Can Keep Year of Eligibility

NCAA Board of Directors sign blanket waiver saying that fall sport athletes can keep their year of eligibility, no matter if they play this fall, this spring or don't play at all.

The NCAA Board of Directors approved a waiver that fall athletes, whether they play this fall, this spring or not at all, can keep a year of eligibility. Nicole Auerbach of the Athletic reported it first and the official announcement from the NCAA came a few minutes later.

So, yes, if a football player from the ACC, Big 12, SEC etc. plays this fall, they will also get an extra year of eligibility.

In regards to school aid, Auerbach tweets that it will be treated like the spring athletes who lost their spring season due to COVID-19, the school does not have to match the aid the student-athlete gets now.

As for fall championships, the NCAA Board of Directors approved the planning to conduct those championships to be played in the spring of 2021.

When it comes to insurance and whether a school can prove a college athlete who tested positive for COVID-19 due to an athletic activity and not, say, a party, Auerbach explains in the tweet thread below.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts transfers and recruiting with the adjustments in eligibility. For example, freshmen and sophomores who now have to wait even longer to see time on the field might transfer out. Recruits who might've been promised scholarships may not get them anymore. If those recruits will also have to wait longer to see the field, will that impact their verbal commitments? 

Look for these decisions today to impact the state of the NCAA for the next three to four years.

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