NCAA Reduces Required Minimum Number Of Games For Fall Sports
Jul 28, 2020, 2:29 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: The NCAA logo is seen in the second half of the game between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – All fall NCAA sports, except football, can now play a season with 50 percent fewer games amid the COVID-19 pandemic according to college sports’ governing body.
The waiver granted by the NCAA is applicable to men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, men’s water polo, and women’s volleyball teams.
DI Council Coordination Committee issues waiver on minimum contests: https://t.co/sgBoli0lr2 pic.twitter.com/xdL9hRTtWA
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) July 27, 2020
From the NCAA’s press release on the waiver, “In the current environment where some conferences have eliminated nonconference competition for fall sports, the change allows teams that continue to play the opportunity to avoid scheduling additional games near the end of a season that could put student-athletes, coaches and staff in at-risk positions with additional travel and exposure.”
The NCAA oversees the championships for all of the sports that have been granted waivers for the minimum number of games they will play this fall. In football, the College Football Playoff LLC. oversees all championship decisions which is why the NCAA has no ruling or authority over the gridiron.
Typical tools the NCAA uses to determine championship brackets in these sports such as RPI and NET become less reliable according to the association’s release. Instead the NCAA will turn to information provided by conferences this fall to help evaluate teams for at-large selections.
The Pac-12 Conference moved to a Conference-Only schedule for all fall sports, including football. BYU’s conference for fall sports, the West Coast Conference, has pushed back the start date for all fall activity to September 26th.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
