DENVER (KDVR) – Student athletes at NCAA Division II and III schools will not have the chance to compete for fall championships.
The decision was announced Wednesday afternoon, and will impact a handful of schools in Colorado, including Colorado Christian University, Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, Regis University, Colorado College and Metropolitan State University of Denver.
“We are disappointed in the NCAA’s decision to cancel fall sports championships,” CSU Pueblo Director of Athletics Dr. Paul Plinske said in a statement on the school’s website. “We understand there are incredible challenges in mitigating risk amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but we were ready to provide the best experience possible.”
“While we are disappointed that national championships won’t be held for our fall sports programs, we will continue to explore our options for competing,” said Todd Thurman, MSU Denver’s director of athletics. “We will also consider what the rest of the institutions in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference intend to do as we strategize for the future.”
According the the NCAA, 11 of 23 Division II conferences had already announced that they would not compete during the traditional fall season.
“After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors’ directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II,” said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina Aiken and chair of the council.