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NCAA does right thing for spring sports athletes after coronavirus cancellations

By Mike Phillips

CARY, NC - FEBRUARY 23: Tyler Sanfilippo #8 of Wagner College swings at the ball during a game between Wagner and Penn State at Coleman Field at USA Baseball National Training Complex on February 23, 2020 in Cary, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
CARY, NC - FEBRUARY 23: Tyler Sanfilippo #8 of Wagner College swings at the ball during a game between Wagner and Penn State at Coleman Field at USA Baseball National Training Complex on February 23, 2020 in Cary, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
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The NCAA has decided to do the right thing in regards to spring sports athletes after their seasons were canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus.

The sports world has come to a halt due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, and while professional leagues will eventually resume the biggest losers are collegiate athletes. Spring sports like softball, baseball, lacrosse, golf and tennis won’t finish their seasons and seniors in those sports may have had their careers come to an end for factors beyond their control.

The right move for the NCAA would be to give these senior athletes affected by the cancellation one more year of eligibility, and it appears that they will do just that.

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported on Twitter that:

"Per source, NCAA sent a note to membership today saying it believes ‘it will be appropriate to grant relief for the use of a season for competition for student-athletes who have participated in spring sports.’ NCAA will start working on issues tied to this & winter athletes."

This memo heavily implies that the NCAA will work with its programs to provide financial support to allow these student-athletes to complete their collegiate careers in 2021. Many of these athletes never get the opportunity to turn pro, so their senior seasons are their last opportunity to play the sport they love.

The interesting part of this tweet is the fact that the NCAA is weighing its options as well regarding winter sports athletes, who played most of their seasons but did not get to compete in championships. The two most high-profile winter sports are college basketball and college hockey, which are two of the highest revenue earners in postseason time in terms of TV coverage.

One college basketball star, Seton Hall’s Myles Powell, who would see his career end without extended eligibility did put out an interesting tweet yesterday indicating he would be open to another run with the Pirates.

https://twitter.com/Myles_MBP_23/status/1238477951571804160?s=20

Winter sports athletes theoretically have less of an argument for extended eligibility than the spring sports athletes do, but this is an unprecedented and extraordinary situation. A lot of money will be lost with the championships not being played, and perhaps the NCAA sees granting extra eligibility to college basketball stars like Powell and Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu as an opportunity to get more eyeballs on the sport during the regular season.

That discussion will still be going on, but the NCAA should be applauded for doing the right thing for its spring sports athletes. They deserved better than having their careers ended by a virus, and it looks like they will get to finish their college playing days on the field instead.

Next. NCAA needs to do right thing for spring student athletes. dark

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.

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