COVID-19 7/31/2020 11:53:00 AM CU Athletics

NAIA Council of President's decides to postpone all championships to spring, including football

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has decided this week to postpone all fall championships, including football, officials confirmed on Friday morning, July 31st.

The NAIA's Council of President's (COP) released the following information:
"During the July 28 COP meeting, it was determined that all fall championships, excluding football, were to be postponed. The reasoning the NAIA decided to wait until today, July 31, to make a decision on football was because it required additional attention since the sport often operates outside of the regular conference structure. The additional time was to allow COP members to have adequate opportunity to gain feedback from their respective colleagues before voting.

"Given the fast-paced and constantly-changing nature of the current environment, the COP recognized that the likelihood of safely completing the fall sports season has decreased significantly. This decision allows conferences the autonomy to consider the regional impact of COVID-19 when determining the appropriate time for regular season competition. It also increases flexibility by permitting a current, split, or entirely postponed regular season, all of which can precede postseason play.

"Moving all the fall championships to spring is the most inclusive option for our members, especially those schools that are not able to participate in athletics this fall. By moving the championships to spring 2021, student-athletes at these schools will have the possibility of participating in a national championship.

"This decision also allows the greatest autonomy to our institutions in regards to scheduling and because of that flexibility, sports will be able to extend their maximum number of contests back to the original number allowed, if they so choose.

"These decisions are unprecedented, which makes it difficult to foresee all the consequences that will need to be addressed. Know that we are working as quickly as possible with the various governance groups to establish updated processes and protocols that will best support our student-athletes. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this new terrain and we will update you as soon as information is available.

"We realize there are a wide range of considerations that come with postponing fall championships. Our first priority is making sure our student-athletes are not penalized by this decision. That will likely require temporary rule changes and accommodations as related to eligibility and seasons of competition, which the NAIA governance groups will begin further defining this week. This process will be similar to how the NAIA handled the cancellation of spring sports and the ACT/SAT accommodations made for student-athletes this summer."

Mid-South Conference Scheduling:
Now with conferences having autonomy on scheduling, Mid-South Conference Commissioner Eric Ward has called Administrative Council meetings with the 12 full-time member institution's athletics directors for Aug. 4-6. More information will be available once decisions are made by the MSC Admin. Council.

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