NCAA President Mark Emmert announced in a video interview yesterday that the NCAA has opted to postpone fall athletic championships.
"We cannot, at this point, have fall NCAA championships."
NCAA President Mark Emmert discusses the latest developments in fall sports and looks ahead to winter and spring championships.
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The NCAA needs half of its schools playing in order to hold championships and, as Emmert noted, this year that is not the case.
“Sadly, tragically, that’s going to be the case this fall,” Emmert said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t and can’t turn toward winter and spring and say ‘OK, how can we create a legitimate championship for all those students.’ … I’m completely confident that we can figure this out.”
Important note: this announcement does not affect the College Football Playoff as it is run by the conferences and not the NCAA.
Emmert also touched on the prospects of a spring football season, saying “Will it be normal? Of course not. It’ll be playing fall sports in the spring. Will it create other conflicts and challenges? Of course. But is it doable? Yeah. And we want to do that. We want to make it work for these students.”
So far only the Big Ten and Pac-12 of the Power Five conferences have postponed or cancelled their fall athletic competitions with the hope of playing in the spring, and only time will tell if the remaining three join them on the sidelines.