Despite some schools changing academic years amid the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA says it plans to keep the same dates and sites for NCAA Championships in fall sports.
The NCAA Competition Oversight Committee made the announcement today, though it did note that the situation could still be fluid:
“After review of the conference survey feedback and based on the information currently available, the Competition Oversight Committee’s position on fall championships remains unchanged. The plan at this time is to keep the same formats, the same timelines and the same previously determined sites for fall championships. This approach is consistent with what we heard from the membership in terms of current planning. We continue to acknowledge the ongoing uncertainty about the spread of the virus and the different actions and approaches states are taking to address it may cause modifications to be made to the playing and practice seasons and the championships as matters progress. Further, we will remain nimble to react to a fluid and unpredictable environment in ways that protect the health, safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches, administrators and spectators.”
- NCAA Competition Oversight Committee chair Lynda Tealer
Earlier reports from the NCAA had suggested the organization was considering pushing fall sport Championships to the week of Thanksgiving. Some individual schools have begun adjusting their academic calendar to wrap up classes by Thanksgiving. The rationale has been avoiding mass migrations of students to and from campus during November and December holidays.
As it currently stands, NCAA Championships in fall sports are set to be spread from November 20 through January 11:
- Football – FBS – Jan. 11, Miami Gardens, FL
- Football – FCS – Jan. 9, TBD
- Field Hockey – Nov. 20-22, Norfolk, VA
- Men’s and Women’s Cross Country – Nov. 21, Stillwater, OK
- Women’s Soccer – Dec. 4-6, Cary, NC
- Men’s Water Polo – Dec. 5-6, Stanford, CA
- Men’s Soccer – Dec. 11-13, Santa Barbara, CA
- Women’s Volleyball – Dec. 17-19, Omaha, NE
Men’s water polo is the lone aquatic sport to be held in the NCAA‘s fall season.
With men’s and women’s swimming & diving falling in the NCAA‘s winter season, those championship dates could be affected by disruptions to the fall sports season, or by spikes in coronavirus cases during the fall.