NCAA Division I council passes sweeping rule changes for 2020-2021
The NCAA Division I council on Wednesday passed sweeping rule changes for the 2020-2021 academic year.
- All winter sport athletes will receive another year of eligibility if they want it, effective immediately.
- Student-athletes in all sports can transfer one time without sitting out for a season, per the association’s final vote in January. It is expected to go into effect Aug. 1, 2021.
- All 127 FBS teams playing this fall are immediately bowl eligible.
Stadium’s Brett McMurphy reported all three developments Wednesday afternoon following the council’s meeting.
Giving everyone an additional year of eligibility in the wake of a pandemic brings immediate gratification, but will have a deleterious effect on incoming freshmen next year as well as on coaches in equivalency sports trying to manage roster sizes and scholarship limits.
That will become even more complex for some schools as transfers leave and arrive without any concern over having to sit out a year.
And with 39 bowl games currently planning to play this year — so far — only 78 of those 127 teams will land a postseason spot, possibly leaving some worthy teams out of the bowl picture.
The NCAA also announced future championship sites, and the Big 12 Conference will host NCAA men’s basketball tournament regional sites in 2023 (Kansas City), 2024 (Dallas) and 2026 (Oklahoma City).
The Big 12 is already hosting first-round games in 2021 as well as the 2023 Women’s Final Four in Dallas.
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