College football is now the only sport that can crown a champion this fall.
On Thursday afternoon, NCAA President Mark Emmert announced the postponement of fall championships, saying he hopes that the championships can be moved until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We cannot, at this point, have fall championships,” he said in an interview. “Sadly, tragically, that's going to be the case this fall. That doesn't mean we shouldn't and can't turn toward winter and spring and say 'OK, how can we create a legitimate championship for all those students?’”
He said that fall sports teams may compete in regular-season competitions, but they will not have a chance to win a national title.
Emmert cited that the NCAA wouldn’t be able to meet the Board of Governors requirement of 50 percent of schools playing to hold the postseason.
The sports championships that have been delayed are men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s field hockey, women’s volleyball and the Football Championship Subdivision.
The College Football Playoff is not affected by this decision, since it is not an NCAA event, according to USA Today.
This week, the Big Ten and the Pac-12 postpone their football season. The rest of the Power 5 conferences plan to push toward a fall season.
This decision comes after the NCAA also canceled Division II and Division III fall championships on Aug. 5.
Follow Zachary on Twitter @zacharyahuber and contact him at zhuber@alligator.org.
