No fall championships in NCAA Divisions II and III. Fate of regular seasons unclear
There will be no fall national championships, including football, in Divisions II and III for 2020, the NCAA announced Wednesday, and none will be played in the spring.
The NCAA Division II President’s Council said the decision was made based on operational, logistical and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each of the NCAA’s three divisions were directed to make the call on fall sports championships. Earlier in the day, Division III announced it was canceling its fall championships.
Among the fall sports in Division II, which includes the Kansas City-based MIAA, are football, cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.
The MIAA is scheduled to conduct a meeting Thursday to determine the fate of regular-season competition. Last month, the MIAA announced it was delaying the start of fall sports competition until the week of Sept. 28. This came after the conference reduced the number of regular-season contests in football to 10.
As of Wednesday, 11 of the 23 Division II had announced they wouldn’t compete during the traditional fall season, according to the NCAA.
The Great Lakes Valley Conference, which includes Rockhurst, William Jewell and Drury, announced last month that fall sports competitions, except for cross county, will move to the second semester.
Since 1991, MIAA football teams have won eight Division II championships, Northwest Missouri State six and Pittsburg State two. The Division II national championship games were played at Children’s Mercy Park from 2014-17.
Winter and spring championships across all divisions in the 2019-20 school year were canceled when sports shut down nationally in mid-March.
“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 Sandra Jordan, Division II Council chair and chancellor of South Carolina Aiken.
Two other college associations, the NAIA and National Junior College Athletic Association, have moved their football championships to the spring.