Report: NCAA to Allow Spring Sports Athletes Additional Season of Competition

The NCAA will grant an additional season of eligibility to spring sports athletes affected by the cancellation of their seasons due to the public health threat of novel coronavirus COVID-19, the NCAA Council Coordination Committee agreed, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

The decision will grant an additional year of eligibility to student athletes in baseball, beach volleyball, golf, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, rowing, softball, tennis, men’s volleyball and women’s water polo.

The NCAA’s Council Coordination Committee has agreed to grant relief for the use of a season of competition for student-athletes who have participated in spring sports.

Committee will also discuss issues for winter sport student-athletes.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 13, 2020

The players most impacted by Friday’s decision are the seniors, which otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility. 

West Virginia’s spring sports seniors include baseball pitcher Dillon Meadows, outfielder/pitcher Braden Zarbnisky and infielder Kevin Brophy, golfers Philipp Matlari and Etienne Papineau, two tennis players and two members of the track team.

The NCAA did not make a ruling on winter sports athletes that had their 2020 postseason interrupted by Thursday’s announcements.

The sport’s governing body also needs to make a decision on how to deal with schools going over the scholarship limit as a result of seniors getting an additional season along with new recruits.

A version of this story was originally published at our partner site, Pittsburgh Sports Now.