The NCAA Division III staff has created this bi-weekly communication for the Division III Commissioners Association to provide up-to-date communications on the constantly evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Division III membership. Please share this communication with your conference members.
RECENT GOVERNANCE MEETINGS AND KEY COVID-19 DISCUSSIONS AND OUTCOMES
Championships Committee, Dec. 8
Winter championship selection criteria.The committee already had agreed that for automatic qualification, as long as conferences declare their intent to conduct winter sports with at least four core members and demonstrate a schedule that allows the automatic qualifier to meet minimum contest requirements, no waiver will be required if COVID-related issues either cause the conference to fall below the four-core-member threshold or prevent the automatic qualifier from meeting the minimum contest requirements.
The committee also affirmed that, if a conference does not designate an automatic qualifier, pool allocations will be reconfigured according to Bylaw 31.3.1.1 within the existing bracket size and any conference members otherwise eligible for championship selection will be considered on an at-large basis (as Pool B teams; or Pool C teams if no Pool B berths are merited).
The committee discussed selection requirements for at-large consideration and determined that teams must meet the new minimum contest requirements, and if they are unable to do so because of circumstances beyond their control, they would need to apply for a waiver in order to be considered for at-large selection (click here for waiver form).
Monitoring winter sport championships. The committee continues to monitor sport sponsorship levels and the impact on winter championships. The committee directed staff to distribute a survey to institutions, via their conference commissioners, that would help determine the following:
Whether conferences/institutions have made decisions regarding the status of winter sports (i.e., whether they’re going to compete or not).
If yes, whether they intend to hold competition in a timeframe that would allow them to compete in the NCAA tournament, and whether they intend to meet the new reduced minimum contest requirements by the selection date.
Answers to these questions will help the committee base future decisions on the actual number of teams eligible for selection. The surveys were distributed through the Division III Commissioners Association on December 14 with a request to complete by December 21.
COVID-19 Playing and Practice Season Internal Working Group
As a reminder, the document includes considerations specific to the prevention of community spread of COVID-19, reclassification of transmission risk of sport based on emerging information, and COVID-19 testing and masking for athletes, officials and other Tier 1 personnel. Updated considerations in the document include:
• Clarifying face coverings when determining high-risk contacts. • New considerations for quarantine decision-making. • Exercise considerations during quarantine. • Classification and testing considerations for emerging sports. • Further travel considerations.
The guidance was developed in collaboration with the NCAA COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine COVID-19 Working Group and the Autonomy 5 Medical Advisory Group and takes into consideration available recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information on the NCAA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit ncaa.org/covid-19.
UPCOMING MEETINGS AND ANTICIPATED DISCUSSIONS
Championships Committee, Jan. 7
Winter sport championships. The committee will continue to monitor championship sport sponsorship levels and their impact on winter championships. Pending information gathered through the survey distributed on December 14, the committee will evaluate the viability of conducting winter championships and discuss whether to impose a deadline by sport for conferences and institutions to declare their commitment to participate in the championship.
RESOURCES
Division III Compliance page. (2020-21 Division III COVID-19 Question and Answer Guide - (last updated Dec. 14) and the Blanket Waiver Summary Guide (created Nov. 6)
With every communication, we also anticipate additional questions. Please send all questions to d3identity@ncaa.org. Stay healthy and safe and thank you for your continued collaboration and leadership.
This email was sent to the NCAA Division III Commissioners Association