SPORTS

DII championships canceled for fall season, NCAA announces

Wynston Wilcox
wwilcox@augustachronicle.com
Icons NCAA Logo.jpg

The Division II President’s Council announced on Wednesday it was canceling its seven fall championships for the 2020 season, citing logistical, operational and financial challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of University of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the council.

The NCAA Board of Governors required each division to make a decision on fall sports championships based on specific requirements, including that all fall sports must apply the resocialization principles and set a 50 percent sponsorship threshold for a fall sport championship to proceed.

For Augusta University, this affects men’s and women’s cross country and women’s volleyball. The women’s volleyball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in last year’s championship before falling to Carson Newman in straight sets.

“This decision was discussed very thoroughly, and I assure you, it was not made lightly. It is important to note that fall student-athletes will be given eligibility-related flexibility to allow them championship opportunities in the future. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on providing the best championships experience for our winter and spring student-athletes who were not afforded those opportunities at the beginning of this pandemic,” said Jordan.