JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM / 2019
Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro was mobbed by teammates after scoring a touchdown against Fresno State last November at Aloha Stadium. Fall sports athletes will have another year of eligibility after a ruling by the NCAA on Friday.
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The NCAA Division I Board of Directors on Friday granted athletes in fall sports an additional year of eligibility in the wake of COVID-19 disruption of their season.
The move, which includes football, women’s volleyball and soccer, followed a recommendation from the Division I Council on Wednesday.
In its announcement Friday, the NCAA said, “all fall sport student-athletes will receive both an additional year of eligibility and an additional year in which to complete it, as the Council suggested, through a blanket waiver.”
Even athletes who still take part in competition this fall will be eligible to claim the extra year.
The policy is similar to what the NCAA adopted in the spring for athletes whose sports in that season were impacted.
But that doesn’t mean that schools must come up with funding to match the aid they currently receive. As was the case in the spring, it will be up to individual schools if they will be responsible for funding any scholarship overload. Some schools, Wisconsin prominently among them, chose not to provide extra funding.
The University of Hawaii did not appropriate additional funds in the spring and required its programs to raise funds or make adjustments.
UH athletic director David Matlin did not immediately reply to questions about what the school would do for the fall.
The NCAA also committed to holding “scaled-back” fall championships in the spring, provided they can be done safely and within federal, state and local health guidelines. No decision on bracket sizes was announced.
