It seems shallow given the current pandemic to offer up this added conundrum, but there are some major questions the NCAA and every conference and college will have to answer at some point when this situation resolves.
What will happen to the scholar athlete who is out of eligibility but had their winter, spring or even fall season interrupted? Will they get another year of eligibility? If so, who funds the scholarship? There is an obvious disparity there between the higher revenue generating schools and the rest.
Furthermore, what happens to the scholarship allotment? This varies by conference and sport. Does it expand? If it doesn’t, do the offers to incoming freshmen stand? Will schools be allowed to reneg? Will scholarships be pulled from current awardees to make room?
I have heard this topic get discussed after the NCAA basketball tournament was canceled as it pertains to basketball, but this is a much bigger problem in that the NCAA doesn’t have a lot of control over these issues other than eligibility.
I can only speculate that the P5 conferences will end up widening the gap and place the non-P5 conference members at an even further competitive disadvantage, especially given that football is the major revenue generator for athletic programs. If the football season gets canceled, there could be wholesale changes and elimination of a lot of non-revenue generating programs.
I reiterate that I do believe there are far greater concerns in the world right now than this. But, I get a sense that college athletics is going to feel the aftershocks of this for a long long time.
What will happen to the scholar athlete who is out of eligibility but had their winter, spring or even fall season interrupted? Will they get another year of eligibility? If so, who funds the scholarship? There is an obvious disparity there between the higher revenue generating schools and the rest.
Furthermore, what happens to the scholarship allotment? This varies by conference and sport. Does it expand? If it doesn’t, do the offers to incoming freshmen stand? Will schools be allowed to reneg? Will scholarships be pulled from current awardees to make room?
I have heard this topic get discussed after the NCAA basketball tournament was canceled as it pertains to basketball, but this is a much bigger problem in that the NCAA doesn’t have a lot of control over these issues other than eligibility.
I can only speculate that the P5 conferences will end up widening the gap and place the non-P5 conference members at an even further competitive disadvantage, especially given that football is the major revenue generator for athletic programs. If the football season gets canceled, there could be wholesale changes and elimination of a lot of non-revenue generating programs.
I reiterate that I do believe there are far greater concerns in the world right now than this. But, I get a sense that college athletics is going to feel the aftershocks of this for a long long time.
