The NCAA Division I Council passed a number of legislative actions during a Sept. 16 meeting including recommendations for the regular seasons and preseasons as well as recommendations for fall sports championships.
A task force composed of the Mountain West board of directors, athletic directors, a health and safety advisory committee, conference staff, institutional athletics administrators, coaches and student-athlete representatives has been meeting to reschedule fall sports and plan the seasons for football and men’s and women’s basketball.
These plans include scheduling, enhancing medical protocols and revising management plans according to a Sept. 8 update on the status of Mountain West sports.
“Multiple subgroups within the conference are working daily on solutions to the existing challenges in order to facilitate a return to play for Mountain West football, and other conference sport programs, at the earliest possible opportunity,” Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said in a Sept. 16 online news release.
For the football season, the council adopted temporary emergency legislation to postpone competition until spring.
According to the meeting brief provided by Joe Waltasti, assistant athletics director for media relations in an email, this legislation provides flexibility for practice times and allows up to eight regular-season games during a period of no more than 13 weeks, with the last regular-season game scheduled for no later than April 17, 2021.
“The NFL draft is part of the consideration for the start and the completion of the spring season,” SJSU head football coach Brent Brennan said in a previous Spartan Daily article. “The idea is to be completed before the NFL draft.”
According to an April 28 article posted on the NFL website, the 2021 draft is scheduled to take place in Cleveland, Ohio, from April 29 to May 1.
Regarding other fall sports’ normal seasons and preseasons, the council adopted temporary emergency legislation which specifies that university sports departments, “may break up the fall playing season into multiple segments.”
The council also determined that universities can choose the date for their first practices in the spring based on the institution’s specific needs and other factors.
SJSU basketball guard Seneca Knight said over the phone that he is just happy to have a season to play.
“For the longest time, we didn't think we would have a season. It's a sign of relief, being able to see that news for me and the whole team,” Knight said over the phone. “Before we were just working to get better, but now we have a season to work for.”
This emergency legislation will also allow university basketball teams to transition from out-of-season activities to on-court preseason practice on Monday and change the first permissible game date to Nov. 25.
"Right now, we are excited that there is a start date,” SJSU men’s basketball head coach Jean Prioleau said in an email to the Spartan Daily. “Our student-athletes' well-being is the number one concern."
Additionally, the legislation aims to reduce the minimum number of games required to satisfy sports-sponsorship requirements by 50%.
During the Sept. 16 meeting, the council made recommendations to the NCAA Division I board of directors on elements of fall sports championships, which the board will discuss today.
