INDIANAPOLIS — On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a plan to that would allow Seattle U cross country, soccer and volleyball teams to conduct a regular season and move fall championships to the spring. The competition schedule adjustments are being made to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The potential new schedule for Redhawk fall term teams would be:
- M & W Cross Country: Jan. 30-Mar. 6; championships on Mar. 15
- M & W Soccer: Feb. 3-Apr. 24; championships on May 13-17
- Volleyball: Jan. 22-Apr. 10; championships on Apr. 23-25
In an effort to support health and safety, one of the changes approved was the reduction of the championship brackets with persevered automatic qualification for conferences. As a result, the championship field for each sport will be scaled back to 75 percent of its usual capacity, meaning women's soccer and volleyball drops from 64 to 48 teams, respectively; while men's soccer will now consist of 36 teams apposed to its normal field of 48. For now, the cross country final site is set to host 255 runners for each gender.
Further details regarding the NCAA championships can be found here.
"While no one wanted to see fall championships impacted by the pandemic, the Competition Oversight Committee put a thoughtful proposal in front of the Council which was resoundingly endorsed. We believe we have an appropriate and considerate plan to move fall championship events to the spring, and I look forward to presenting this plan to the Board of Directors next week," said Council Chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. "The plan gives maximum opportunities to fall student-athletes to participate in NCAA championships, while preserving access to conferences through automatic qualifications."
The NCAA Division I Council last week also announced several updates to the 2020-21 calendar for men's and women's basketball, which the Board of Directors adopted as temporary legislation on Tuesday.
The key highlights from the announcement was a new competition start date of November 25. Teams will also be prohibited in participating in exhibition or scrimmage contests prior to the new start date. Both groups also announced a four-game reduction to maximum number of allowable contests and also stated that preseason practices can begin as earlier as October 14.
"The new season start date near the Thanksgiving holiday provides the optimal opportunity to successfully launch the basketball season," NCAA Senior VP of Basketball Dan Gavitt said in the release. "It is a grand compromise of sorts and a unified approach that focuses on the health and safety of student-athletes competing towards the 2021 Division I basketball championships."
More information regarding Seattle U men's and women's basketball will follow.
The NCAA also announced that Division I student-athletes will not practice and compete, among other athletically related activities, on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1 every year, including the upcoming Election Day on Nov. 3.
The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) proposed the legislation to provide a day each year dedicated to increasing opportunities for Division I athletes to participate in civic engagement. These include activities such as voting or community service, among others.