The NCAA wants to do what’s right for their athletes after canceling the remainder of the winter sports and all of the spring season. Immediately there were rumors that the springs sports would be given an extra year of eligibility, which has yet to become official, with the winter athletes still waiting on a decision.
Sources: The NCAA is unlikely to grant an extra year of eligibility for student athletes who participated in winter sports and had their seasons cut short due to coronavirus.
An extra year of eligibility is still in play for student athletes involved with spring sports.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 18, 2020
It seems though, as CBS’s Jon Rothstein reports, that the winter sport athletes will not be given an extra year of eligibility. The winter sports consist of men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s hockey, will not get another opportunity to suit up for their respective schools after the NCAA stopped all athletics amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Although this is an extremely tough decision, it seems like it’s the right one to make. For instance, John Mooney, Notre Dame’s senior basketball star finished his career with some very impressive career statistics. Would it be fair to former ACC stars for Mooney to get a full extra year to make a run at some of their career records? The answer is no, although Irish fans would love to see Mooney’s name atop the list of some impressive stats, it is not what the NCAA should allow.
It was not the ending any of the winter sports would have liked to see, but the simple fact that they played the majority of their season, as opposed to spring sports who played less than half of their regular season. It’s a difficult pill to swallow, but the correct move if true by the NCAA.