(Indianapolis, Ind.) – Due to low participation numbers among member schools, NCAA Division III has canceled winter championships for the 2020-21 academic year, the Division III Administrative Committee announced last week.
The NCAA’s decision affects four Texas Lutheran University Athletics programs – women’s basketball, men’s basketball, women’s indoor track & field, and men’s indoor track & field.
These four TLU sports will not have NCAA playoff or NCAA Championship possibilities in the spring semester of 2021. Conference games and conference championship tournaments for women’s and men’s basketball are still scheduled to be played.
“Today, we made the difficult decision to cancel our Division III winter championships,” said Fayneese Miller, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Hamline (Minn.), on Wednesday. “While some institutions have been able to safely return to sport, the recent declaration form data show that more than half of our division has not returned to winter sport practice and competition to be in a position for NCAA national championship participation.”
“This was a very difficult decision to make, and we are saddened to do so. However, none of our winter sports meet the Championships Committee’s established thresholds of participation to hold a championship. We are committed to ensuring that our student-athletes have the best possible experience, and, for us, this means having a meaningful number of competitions. We hope this is possible for our spring championships.”
In an August announcement, the NCAA cancelled all Division III national championships in fall sports. That decision impacted TLU’s sports of football, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, women’s cross country, and men’s cross country. Those six TLU sports already knew that there would be no playoff or national championship opportunities in this academic year.
On Dec. 8, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Texas Lutheran University’s conference for 15 of its 18 intercollegiate sports, announced that all of its member institutions intend to move forward with athletic competition in the spring semester for all conference-sponsored sports. This directive has not changed.
Fifteen of TLU’s 18 intercollegiate sports programs play in the SCAC. TLU Football plays in the American Southwest Conference, and TLU’s men’s and women’s indoor track & field programs compete as independents.
TLU’s football season in the ASC remains on track as well. TLU and all of its fellow football members in the ASC will play four games against divisional opponents and a final game against a cross-divisional opponent. The conference’s football schedule will be played under a two-division model with teams closing the 2020-21 season with a playoff pitting teams cross-seeded in a single game.
The NCAA Division III Administrative Committee, acting on behalf of the Division III Management and Presidents Council, approved the recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to cancel all winter championships. The committee has been closely monitoring and discussing the membership’s winter sport participation for several months, and it has been providing updates to the councils.
The Championships Committee decision was based on the results of a winter declaration form distributed to members about their intention to compete this season in a capacity that would permit them to meet the minimum contest requirements to be eligible for championship selection by the established selection dates. The declaration form was sent to Division III athletics directors Jan. 19 and completed by 98 percent of the membership.
The total list of NCAA Division III National Championships affected are men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s ice hockey, and wrestling.
During its review of the declaration data, the Championships Committee determined participation numbers in all nine winter sports were well below the established threshold to provide a national championships experience. These established thresholds are 60 percent for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s indoor track and field, and 70 percent for men’s and women’s ice hockey and wrestling.