INDIANAPOLIS – NCAA Division III championships in fall sports for 2020-21 are canceled. With the health and safety of the division’s student-athletes, coaches, athletics administrators and communities as its priority, the Division III Presidents Council made the decision Wednesday to cancel the championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related administrative and financial challenges.

The Board of Governors directed each division to make a decision on its fall sport championships. It also agreed to require all members institutions to apply the resocialization principles to fall sports and set a 50 percent sponsorship threshold for a fall sport championship to be conducted.

“Looking at the health and safety challenges we face this fall during this unprecedented time, we had to make this tough decision to cancel championships for fall sports this academic year in the best interest of our student-athlete and member institutions,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Spalding.

“Our Championships Committee reviewed the financial and logistical ramifications if Division III fall sports championships were conducted in the spring and found it was logistically untenable and financially prohibitive. Our Management Council reached the same conclusion. Moving forward, we will try to maximize the championships experience for our winter and spring sport student-athletes, who unfortunately were short-changed last academic year.”

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INDIANAPOLIS – For the upcoming 2020-21 season, the first practice date for all Division III fall sports will be Aug. 10 or the first day of class, whichever is earlier.

The Division III Administrative Committee approved lengthening preseasons for fall sports during a videoconference Wednesday, in response to recommendations from the Management Council’s Playing and Practice Seasons Subcommittee. There also will be an unlimited number of administrative days for schools to conduct nonathletics-related activities, or days on which schools can provide housing and meal expenses to student-athletes before the start of practice.

“The NCAA continues to keep the health of students as a top priority,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the committee and the Division III Presidents Council, and Spalding president. “Colleges and universities across the nation need guidelines that will allow students to return to play in a manner that preserves fundamental fairness as much as possible.”

The Administrative Committee concluded that this change gives schools the flexibility to conduct preseasons while putting the health and safety of student-athletes first.

Before this change, the permissible start date was based on a team’s first contest date. Given the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, schools are unsure when that first contest date is going to be. Additionally, the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute put out guidelines on how to resume college sports and return student-athletes and staff to campus. The Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Sport recommends a phased approach, and this move allows greater time for that to be implemented.

The Administrative Committee is the governing body in Division III that is empowered to act between the quarterly meetings of the Management and Presidents Councils. The committee has five members, including the chair and vice chair of the Presidents and Management Councils, as well as the senior president serving on the Management Council.

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INDIANAPOLIS – The minimum number of contests required for sports sponsorship and championship selection in Division III have been reduced by 33 percent in all sports for the 2020-21 academic year.

The Division III Administrative Committee approved the reductions during a videoconference Thursday in response to recommendations from the Division III Membership and Championships Committees. The minimum number of required participants will stay the same.

“We hope that a reduction in contest minimums will provide flexibility to our member schools as they work to reopen during what is a very uncertain and complex time. We understand this won’t fix everything for everyone, but we believe it is the right move at this time and we will remain flexible moving forward,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the committee and Spalding president.

The Administrative Committee concluded that reducing the minimum number of contests required for sports sponsorship and championship selection will help institutions remain in compliance, provide much-needed guidance as institutions map out what competition schedules will look like and will reduce the administrative burden associated with seeking relief in the form of waivers as institutions continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent survey of the Division III membership by the Division III Commissioners Association, 85 percent of participants supported a reduction of contest minimums. This reduction also will provide institutions with flexibility to design a competition schedule that fits into revised academic calendars that will likely come as a result of the pandemic.

The committee noted that both the Membership and Championships Committees are committed to flexibility in making decisions in this rapidly changing climate. The intention right now is to conduct fall championships as scheduled.

The Administrative Committee is the governing body in Division III that is empowered to act between the quarterly meetings of the Management and Presidents Councils. The committee has five members, including the chair of the Presidents Council, the vice chair of the Presidents Council and the chair of the Management Council.

Here are the revised sport-by-sport contest minimums for the 2020-21 academic year:

• Men’s cross country: 3.
• Women’s cross country: 3.
• Field hockey: 8.
• Football: 5.
• Men’s soccer: 9.
• Women’s soccer: 9.
• Women’s volleyball: 11.
• Men’s basketball: 12.
• Women’s basketball: 12.
• Men’s ice hockey: 12.
• Women’s ice hockey: 12.
• Men’s swimming and diving: 5.
• Women’s swimming and diving: 5.
• Men’s indoor track and field: 3.
• Women’s indoor track and field: 3.
• Wrestling: 5.
• Baseball: 17.
• Men’s golf: 4.
• Women’s golf: 4.
• Men’s lacrosse: 7.
• Women’s lacrosse: 7.
• Rowing: 5.
• Softball: 16.
• Men’s tennis: 7.
• Women’s tennis: 7.
• Men’s outdoor track and field: 4.
• Women’s outdoor track and field: 4.
• Men’s volleyball: 11.

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