NCAA Division III fall championships canceled

NCAA Division III fall championships have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Division III Presidents Council said Wednesday it decided to cancel the fall championships, citing health and safety of student athletes, coaches, athletic administrators and communities. 

“Our Championships Committee reviewed the financial and logistical ramifications if Division III fall sports championships were conducted in the spring and found it was logistically untenable and financially prohibitive. Our Management Council reached the same conclusion,” Tori Murden McClure, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Spalding, said in a statement. 

“Moving forward, we will try to maximize the championships experience for our winter and spring sport student-athletes, who unfortunately were short-changed last academic year,” McClure added. 

The decision was announced the same day the NCAA Board of Governors said it directed divisions to each determine its own ability to meet the requirements to conduct fall championships. 

Divisions must determine the status of fall championships no later than Aug. 21, according to the NCAA statement. 

A decision has yet to be announced regarding Division I and Division II athletics. 

The NCAA’s requirements state that if 50 percent or more of eligible teams in a particular sport in a division cancel their seasons, there will be no fall NCAA champion in that sport in that division. 

The requirements also call for member schools to adhere to federal, state and local guidelines related to COVID-19, and schools must also allow student athletes the ability to opt out of participation due to concerns about contracting COVID-19 without impacting a student’s scholarship commitment.