Covid Impacts on Upcoming Season

[fishercats]

There hasn't been much discussion on the potential impacts of Covid19 on the upcoming season.

What are teams doing now? Zoom calls? Individual workouts?
How are rosters being impacted? Are kids leaving for less expensive, close to home schools? What does this mean for recruiting?
What potential changes are you hearing for Fall 2020 seasons? Schedule changes? Travel impacts? Tournaments being cancelled?
How are team budgets being impacted? Are some soccer programs being cut?

Some interesting news pieces:

MAC to eliminate 8 postseason tournaments, adjust men's and women's basketball seasons: mac-to-eliminate-eight-postseason-tournaments-adjust-mens-and-womens-basketball-and-volleyball-report.html

Division II league in California suspends fall sports: https://www.kbtx.com/content/sports/Division-II-league-in-California-suspends-fall-sports-570419371.html

[Ejay]

Not a lot of chatter because there's still so many unknowns. And while I'm very hopeful of a full return to fall sports, I'm starting to get more discouraged when I hear that some schools are already changing their fall plans. 

On the D3 level for example, Ithaca won't bring students back until October 5th, which means what - no soccer season at all? an abbreviated season? If I'm a recruit in this senior class, I'm thinking twice about committing (June 1 now for many schools) to a school that may not have a fall season.

[jknezek]

Here in AL club sports have started training again with restrictions. There is a lot of talk about college level prospects having a "gap" year and the local top tier club, BUSA or Alabama FC depending on the level you are playing, taking on a team for them. Discussions with ECNL I believe are ongoing on whether they can have Fall and Spring level competition for essentially one year level above what they have traditionally provided.

[CC United]

I'm interested in whether the NCAA will grant players waivers if the 2020 season is cut short, assuming it happens at all.  In Division 3, a player uses a year of eligibility if he participates in one official practice for that year.   The NCAA could get in front of the issue. That would help programs and athletes decide what to do when it's time to make a decision.

[Another Mom]

Re: recruiting-- a head coach just told us that COVID won't hurt the kids already on his radar, and that he'd seen play.  It would hurt those just getting in touch with him now, and that he hadn't seen in person.

[PlaySimple]

Ithaca College has stated that the fall calendar will start on October 5. (note to EB2319 - I see that you mentioned Ithaca above. I am just adding to what you wrote from what I read on their website)

The plans for athletics seems to be a bit in limbo. From the Ithaca College website:

"I also know many of you will have questions about our athletics programs this fall. Please be assured that our athletics department staff, sports medicine staff, and the director of medicine for IC are working collaboratively to determine a plan and process to re-engage in intercollegiate athletics and recreational sports, and that IC will continue to follow NCAA, NATA, and Liberty League guidelines."

https://www.ithaca.edu/news/college-plans-fall-opening

While D3 athletes are obviously not affected by athletic aid, there will be some interesting implications for spring athletes that missed this past season and, as we get further along in the summer and if it is deemed necessary to cancel the fall sports, the fall athletes that will be affected. If there are some schools that cancel fall seasons while other do not, will this spur transfers? I believe that is going to be a lot more common occurence for the D1, D2, and NAIA athletes, though, as they can receive athletic aid.

I posted some of below on another forum and while it mostly pertains to D1 athletes, there might be some D3 athletes that are also affected. It repeats some of what I already mentioned.

Athletes at all schools and in all divisions that had their seasons canceled this past spring should have another season of eligibility. Some of those athletes are seniors that graduated and may be starting graduate school at another institution. If the graduate program that those athletes are pursing will give them the time to also participate in athletics, I would assume that some would do so. I see that same scenario playing out this upcoming year if athletes get their fall seasons canceled. There will also be a lot of spring sport athletes that will be graduating in the coming years that are going to have another season of eligibility when they graduate.

There have also been a lot of schools that have announced that programs are being cut. Women's soccer has been largely spared but there are men's soccer programs that have been cut, baseball, track and field, cross country, etc. Many of the athletes at those schools, particularly if they're freshmen and sophomores, will be looking at transferring. I'm not sure if the coaches of various sports will be licking their chops with the possible influx of unexpected athletes or if they'll be overwhelmed and confused. This is also going to be confusing for the athletes themselves in deciding what they should do. I see recruiting becoming very different in the coming years with a lot of new dynamics to consider.

Lastly, I can see more and more schools decide that athletics is just not that important and there will be the elimination of sports at many schools. I happen to believe that athletics is an important part of the collegiate experience for many students and it also affords many athletes the opportunity of an education at an institution that they might not have otherwise if they were not an athlete. Look at the many student athletes that are attending some of the Ivies and other Tier 1 schools in all divisions. Athletics opened the door of those schools for many athletes.

[blooter442]

I'm interested in whether the NCAA will grant players waivers if the 2020 season is cut short, assuming it happens at all.  In Division 3, a player uses a year of eligibility if he participates in one official practice for that year.   The NCAA could get in front of the issue. That would help programs and athletes decide what to do when it's time to make a decision.

Pretty sure they gave a year of eligibility to any winter or spring (19-20) athlete whose season was cut short, so I would imagine they would do so for soccer.

[Buck O.]

I'm interested in whether the NCAA will grant players waivers if the 2020 season is cut short, assuming it happens at all.  In Division 3, a player uses a year of eligibility if he participates in one official practice for that year.   The NCAA could get in front of the issue. That would help programs and athletes decide what to do when it's time to make a decision.

Pretty sure they gave a year of eligibility to any winter or spring (19-20) athlete whose season was cut short, so I would imagine they would do so for soccer.

Spring, yes.  But winter? 

[Buck O.]

There hasn't been much discussion on the potential impacts of Covid19 on the upcoming season.

What are teams doing now? Zoom calls? Individual workouts?
How are rosters being impacted? Are kids leaving for less expensive, close to home schools? What does this mean for recruiting?
What potential changes are you hearing for Fall 2020 seasons? Schedule changes? Travel impacts? Tournaments being cancelled?
How are team budgets being impacted? Are some soccer programs being cut?

Some interesting news pieces:

MAC to eliminate 8 postseason tournaments, adjust men's and women's basketball seasons: mac-to-eliminate-eight-postseason-tournaments-adjust-mens-and-womens-basketball-and-volleyball-report.html

Division II league in California suspends fall sports: https://www.kbtx.com/content/sports/Division-II-league-in-California-suspends-fall-sports-570419371.html

In a similar vein, the A-10 is shortening and regionalizing its schedule, to reduce the amount of overnight travel, and is reducing the number of teams that qualify for the postseason tournament.

https://www.soccerwire.com/news/atlantic-10-conference-mens-and-womens-soccer-to-play-modified-schedule-this-fall/

[blooter442]

Spring, yes.  But winter?

I could be wrong, and perhaps it doesn't apply to all winter athletes, but I believe that the day the pandemic was declared by the WHO (March 11) was immediately before the NCAA indoor track championships (March 12). Prior to the NCAA canceling all future winter and spring championships in the next couple of days, a number of schools pulled their kids from competing – a notable example was Harvard, where a couple of track athletes lashed out at the school via social media, before backtracking once the championships were canceled in full. Either way, indoor track qualifiers for the NCAA meets in all divisions missed out on a chance to compete for a title. Additionally, I'm pretty sure the ski championships were also canceled after the Nordic events, meaning that the Nordic races were held but no alpine events occurred, so there was no combined team championship as usual. And, obviously, March Madness did not happen – it was interesting to hear them postulate about playing behind closed doors, but that obviously did not happen once the pandemic was declared.

In sum: I am not sure if it's blanket eligibility to any athlete who competed during the winter, but I would imagine that if any athletes are going to be reimbursed with winter eligibility it is probably the kids who – individually or with a team – qualified for an NCAA championship but did not get to compete.

[Ejay]

Lastly, I can see more and more schools decide that athletics is just not that important and there will be the elimination of sports at many schools.

I wouldn't be so quick to think that D3 schools will start eliminating sports. Doing so would eliminate a nice chunk of tuition dollars as many kids are choosing schools specifically for the athletic opportunities they provide. On the D1 level it's a different story because of the ROI disparity due to scholarships, salaries, travel, etc.

I'm interested in whether the NCAA will grant players waivers if the 2020 season is cut short, assuming it happens at all.

How many D3 kids do you think would want to take a 5th year just so they can play one more season? My guess is not many. They'd have to pay another semester tuition, not graduate with their class, put off getting a job, etc.  D3 kids are student-athletes, not athlete-students.

[jknezek]

For the level of play at DIII sports, this epidemic might end up being a boon. I see DI and DII schools cutting sports. They are revenue negative at that level. I see DIII schools maintaining sports, they can be revenue positive at our level.

It's really that simple. That's why you see non-revenue sports getting the axe in dribs and drabs right now at those levels. If football is not played this fall, or not played in front of crowds, I suspect the dribs and drabs will turn into a stream. It's a good excuse to do what they've wanted to do anyway. That will push some of those athletes down to DIII schools that will welcome their tuition dollars with open arms.

I also suspect it will put more pressure on the truly elite kids in non-revenue sports like soccer, hockey, tennis, golf, etc. with alternative pro development pathways to take advantage of them more as opposed to college scholarships. Kind of a shame as those are expensive pathways for the most part and some good prospects with low capital will struggle to stay involved.

[Gregory Sager]

Lastly, I can see more and more schools decide that athletics is just not that important and there will be the elimination of sports at many schools.

I wouldn't be so quick to think that D3 schools will start eliminating sports. Doing so would eliminate a nice chunk of tuition dollars as many kids are choosing schools specifically for the athletic opportunities they provide. On the D1 level it's a different story because of the ROI disparity due to scholarships, salaries, travel, etc.

Excellent point. I know that many people who post on d3boards.com like to use D1 examples to illustrate their points, but in most cases that's not a good idea. In this instance, in which we're talking about admissions and institutional revenue, it's totally counterproductive to mention what D1 institutions are doing this fall at all. D3 and D1 are apples and oranges in those aspects, and any examples people might want to use from D1 are therefore not germane at all to the topic.

I'm interested in whether the NCAA will grant players waivers if the 2020 season is cut short, assuming it happens at all.

How many D3 kids do you think would want to take a 5th year just so they can play one more season? My guess is not many. They'd have to pay another semester tuition, not graduate with their class, put off getting a job, etc.  D3 kids are student-athletes, not athlete-students.

True enough. It might come down to factors such as disposable family income (which for a lot of people will likely be very different in a post-quarantine-crash economic environment than it is at the moment); the continuing availability of whatever non-athletic scholarships or other financial aid the school has to give to a fifth-year student; the cost of tuition, with or without r&b (cost being a pretty serious variable if you're talking about the difference between a SUNY-Oneonta student-athlete and a Hartwick student-athlete); the availability of summer and holiday-season employment; and the overall job market for new college graduates.

For the level of play at DIII sports, this epidemic might end up being a boon. I see DI and DII schools cutting sports. They are revenue negative at that level. I see DIII schools maintaining sports, they can be revenue positive at our level.

That occurred to me a week ago today when Bowling Green announced that it was cutting baseball, effective immediately, specifically because of pandemic-induced restructuring. My first thought as a D3 baseball fan was, "Well, there's three dozen baseball student-athletes now available on the market, which, either directly or indirectly through D1 and D2 recruiting displacement, means three dozen more guys who will at least consider enrolling as a baseball-playing student-athlete at a D3 school."

It's really that simple. That's why you see non-revenue sports getting the axe in dribs and drabs right now at those levels. If football is not played this fall, or not played in front of crowds, I suspect the dribs and drabs will turn into a stream. It's a good excuse to do what they've wanted to do anyway. That will push some of those athletes down to DIII schools that will welcome their tuition dollars with open arms.

I also suspect it will put more pressure on the truly elite kids in non-revenue sports like soccer, hockey, tennis, golf, etc. with alternative pro development pathways to take advantage of them more as opposed to college scholarships. Kind of a shame as those are expensive pathways for the most part and some good prospects with low capital will struggle to stay involved.

Good point, and one soccer-specific matter that I hadn't considered until now is how this is going to impact clubs. Several sports are club-oriented or travel-team-oriented at the high school and middle school levels -- basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball as well as soccer -- but in soccer the club influence is particularly acute.

[NoSuchThingAsOffsides]

Schools that are staking out dates now are likely ones that are heavily tuition dependent. They are trying to assuage fears of students not returning and convince students to make their deposits.

Also, the number of coaches who are working to convince students to pay for an additional year against their best interest is definitely non-zero.

[YoungBuck]

In a similar vein, the A-10 is shortening and regionalizing its schedule, to reduce the amount of overnight travel, and is reducing the number of teams that qualify for the postseason tournament.

https://www.soccerwire.com/news/atlantic-10-conference-mens-and-womens-soccer-to-play-modified-schedule-this-fall/

This is one area that I think it's safe to say DIII will be in line with DI. Schools will almost certainly be looking to reduce travel costs for programs that don't get shut down completely, meaning regionalized schedules and reductions to overnight travel before conference and national tournaments.

An unintended consequence of this could be further isolation of the Western region schools. A geographically isolated school like Whitworth or Puget Sound is going to have a lot harder time cutting travel costs than any of Eastern PA/NJ/NE schools. I wouldn't be shocked if some of those programs announced program cuts or reduced schedules, which could give their top recruits reason to pick an East coast school going forward (extra 5-10 games per year).

Another unintended consequence to consider could be impacts to SoS. If Chicago or Emory or any other top program from the Midwest or south restricts their non-conference schedule to 50-100 miles or so, their SoS would presumably drop way off, while Messiah or F&M would still be able to find strong teams out of conference nearby. Assuming we have a 2020 season and national tournament, the Pool C selections are going to be a struggle to come up with.