The NCAA Division I Council has approved a waiver for all athletes of spring sports to receive an additional year of eligibility, the NCAA announced Monday afternoon.
The ruling comes weeks after the NCAA chose to cancel the remainder of winter and spring sports due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States.
“The Council’s decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level,” Council chair M. Grace Calhoun said in the NCAA's statement. “The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that.”
Winter sports were not covered with the NCAA's decision Monday, and the NCAA chose not to grant eligibility to athletes whose seasons were nearly or totally completed. However, the extra year of eligibility applies to all athletes of the spring sports programs, not just seniors.
Programs will also be permitted to allow more scholarships to include returning athletes as well as incoming recruits that will join their respective programs at the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
In addition to the scholarship modifications, the NCAA also stated that baseball programs will have an increased roster limit, as it is the only spring sport in the NCAA to have one.
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