Eligibility uncertainty clouds future for fall athletes with COVID-19 concerns

The NCAA Division I Council recommended granting eligibility to fall sports athletes who either opted out or have had their seasons cut short due to COVID-19 this fall. A final decision is expected to be made by the Division I Board of Directors on Aug. 21. 

The recommendation stated that these athletes would be given an extension to their five years of eligibility. It would apply to opt-outs no matter what happens, but athletes who do plan to play would need to complete less than 50 percent of their season for the rule to apply to them.

The North Carolina football team announced on Aug. 7 that four of its players – senior D.J. Ford, junior Bryce Watts, sophomore Javon Terry and redshirt first-year Triston Miller – decided to sit out of the 2020 fall season in response to COVID-19 trends. 

Ford, who made seven starts for the Tar Heels at defensive back, said he thought hard about potentially losing his final year of eligibility. 

“There’s still some uncertainty as to whether or not I’d get another year,” Ford said. “But, I was fearful of being infected with COVID more so than not being able to play football for one year.”

As of Aug. 16, 58 other Division I football players have made the same choice, leaving their respective programs in the fall in order to protect themselves from the pandemic. 

UNC football's head coach Mack Brown said he supported those athletes who chose to opt out — including the four on his team — in a press conference on Aug. 11. 

“We should applaud them, if they didn’t feel comfortable, for stepping out,” he said.  

Ford said Brown and his staff were supportive of his decision. 

“Our coaching staff has been nothing but accepting and very comforting through this process,” Ford said. “None of them had anything negative to say or tried to sway in any direction other than to do what made me feel comfortable.” 

The NCAA Board of Governors originally declared that each division is required to adopt their own eligibility accommodations for athletes that opt-out by Aug. 14. That deadline has since been pushed back to Aug. 21. Brown outlined how his players’ eligibility would be handled.

“If D.J. wants to come back, for instance, what we would do is put in an appeal for him if he wants another year,” Brown said. “The NCAA would have to decide whether they would grant it to him or not."

Any player who decides to opt out of the fall season is guaranteed to have their scholarships retained by their respective schools, the NCAA Board of Governors announced on Aug. 5. 

The NCAA Board of Governors promised all college athletes that they will know eligibility status prior to the start of the fall season. 

Divisions within the NCAA will also need to have plans in place by Aug. 21 to retain athletes' eligibility if the fall season is canceled early.

The NCAA Board of Governors' recommendation increases the chance that students will not be penalized for electing to opt out of the season. It also gives athletes in conferences such as the Big Ten, Pac-12 and the Mid-American Conference — which postponed their fall sports seasons — the chance to make up for a lost year, as well as the ones who could potentially make the same decision in the future. 

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