NCAA in favor of ‘eligibility relief’ for spring sport athletes
Mar 13, 2020, 12:16 PM
Stephen Scott #19 of the Vanderbilt Commodores catches a fly ball at the ball in the fifth inning against the Michigan Wolverines during game three of the College World Series Championship Series on June 26, 2019 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
(Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
The NCAA announced Friday that it supports “eligibility relief” for players who are participating in sports affected adversely by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Council leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports,” it said in a statement. “Details of eligibility relief will be finalized at a later time. Additional issues with NCAA rules must be addressed, and appropriate governance bodies will work through those in the coming days and weeks.”
A report from The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach said a committee will also have to discuss issues related to winter sports. NCAA events for winter sports, such as the NCAA Tournament for basketball, have been cancelled.
One such example of the disruption of spring sports is that of baseball and softball. ASU already announced the cancellation of all athletic competitions until further notice. Players who were in reach of certain records or milestones won’t have the chance to achieve those if most or all of this season is eliminated.
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There’s also the issue of proving oneself for professional scouting and interest. The MLB Draft is slated for June.
In addition to the NCAA, MLB has decided to cancel its spring training games, while the NHL and NBA have suspended play.
