The Presidents Councils for NCAA Division II and Division III announced Wednesday that fall sports championships in both divisions have been canceled for 2020.
The decisions were brought about because of the operational, logistical and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a post on the NCAA website. The health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, athletics administrators and communities remains a priority.
The moves come following the NCAA Board of Governors directing each division to make a decision on its fall sport championships by Aug. 21. The Board also directed each division to meet various requirements to compete in the fall, including resocialization principles to fall sports and sponsorship thresholds to be met, among other requirements.
As of Wednesday, 11 of the 23 Division II conferences had announced they will not compete during the traditional fall season. The Lone Star Conference, which includes UTPB among its 18 members, had not made such an announcement.
The Division III American Southwest Conference, of which Sul Ross State is a member, announced on July 24 that it would delay fall sports to the spring.
Contact the Odessa American sports department by phone 432-333-7703, email oasports@oaoa.com or on Twitter @oa_sports.
