Division III fall sports canceled

Division III championships in fall sports for 2020-21 have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA announced Wednesday. In addition, the NCAA will not attempt to play fall sports in the spring, so their 2020 seasons are completely over now.

This comes after the NCAA announced Tuesday that all three divisions (D-I, D-II, and D-III) will each decide whether or not to have fall championships. Initially, the expectation was the NCAA would rule on all three together.

“Looking at the health and safety challenges we face this fall during this unprecedented time, we had to make this tough decision to cancel championships for fall sports this academic year in the best interest of our student-athlete and member institutions,” said Tori Murden McClure, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Spalding. “Our Championships Committee reviewed the financial and logistical ramifications if Division III fall sports championships were conducted in the spring and found it was logistically untenable and financially prohibitive. Our Management Council reached the same conclusion. Moving forward, we will try to maximize the championships experience for our winter and spring sport student-athletes, who unfortunately were short-changed last academic year.”

Among the Kentucky colleges with Division III athletic programs include Berea College, Centre College, Spalding University, and Transylvania University. Of the four, Centre is the only one with a football program.