The NCAA Division I Council voted Monday to allow senior student-athletes on spring sports programs an extra year of eligibility after seasons were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision affects Ohio senior student-athletes in baseball, softball, track and field, men’s golf and women’s golf. Winter sports were not included in the decision.
After weeks of deliberation, the council announced in a statement that spring-sport seniors would decide whether to take the extra year of eligibility. Financial aid, however, will be determined by each individual school, and senior student-athletes who accept the extra year of eligibility might not be given the same level of financial aid as previous years.
“The Council’s decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level,” Council Chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Penn, said in the statement from the NCAA Council. “The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that.”
The NCAA also adjusted financial aid rules that will allow teams to provide scholarships to more athletes. The changes were made to account for incoming recruits and seniors who accept the additional year of eligibility.
