Why?
That is the biggest question I had when I saw the Twitter push notification pertaining to the NCAA Division II Presidents Council’s decision to cancel the upcoming fall championships.
“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the council, said in a press release. “This decision was discussed very thoroughly, and I assure you, it was not made lightly. It is important to note that fall student-athletes will be given eligibility-related flexibility to allow them championship opportunities in the future. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on providing the best championships experience for our winter and spring student-athletes who were not afforded those opportunities at the beginning of this pandemic.”
Last I checked, it is August, and most of these fall postseason championships aren’t taking place until October or November at the earliest. Teams haven’t even truly begun preparing for the season and the NCAA decided it was a good time to take away any hope of a postseason championship.
There was no reason to make this decision at this time when a lot can happen between now and when the postseason was scheduled to take place. Not only could infection rates drop, but there could even be a vaccine available in that span of time as well, which changes the entire dynamic of how we battle COVID-19.
Don’t get me wrong, the fall championships may very well need to be canceled if the pandemic continues to get worse, or spikes during the winter months. My problem is the timing is all wrong.
To me, this just gives the individual conferences more reason to cancel their regular season contests as a result of there being no postseason, which I feel was the Presidents Council’s goal in part with this decision. With no incentive of a championship to play for, canceling the regular season is an easier pill to swallow.
The NCAA did make it a point to grant extended eligibility to the senior student-athletes should they want to return next season, but it is my feeling that a majority of the seniors who just lost the fall championship season are not going to wait around for a year, accruing more debt by taking on another year of tuition costs and class prices in the process, just to maybe be able to participate in the fall championships next season. For all we know, they could cancel fall championships next season and then what? The student-athletes who returned are just stuck with more debt, while they delayed getting their life as an adult started.
Obviously, there are plenty of student-athletes who come from a wealthier background that may be able to wait around in limbo for a year, but a lot of Division II athletes simply can’t afford to sit on their degree they spent four years earning, particularly in these economically trying times.
This very well may end up being the right call by time the postseason was scheduled to start, but again, waiting a few more months to make the final decision would have been the better move for the sake of the student-athletes.
The NCAA Division II Presidents Council’s decision to cancel the upcoming fall championships will probably end up costing a lot of seniors their last chance to play a sport they’ve loved since childhood ever again in an organized setting, a sport that set them up with a college degree and a chance for a bright future. Personally, I feel sorry for each and every DII senior student-athlete who had to read that news.
