The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has announced its plans for sports to proceed following the coronavirus.
In the update, the association declared that all fall sports will continue as planned, with practices beginning on August 1, and competition beginning on August 20. These sports include:
- Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
- Football
- Men’s and Women’s Half Marathon
- Men’s and Women’s Soccer
- Women’s Tennis (Division III)
- Court Volleyball
Additionally, teams in fall non-championship sports will have a condensed season to account for a second wave of the virus, with practices beginning on August 31, and competitions taking place between September 5 and October 31. These sports include:
- Baseball
- Beach Volleyball
- Men’s and Women’s Golf
- Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse
- Softball
- Tennis (Division I Women’s, Division I Men’s, Division III Men’s)
Most fall championships will proceed as scheduled (except Div I women’s soccer), with some being relocated (due to travel concerns:
- 2020 NJCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship
- 2020 NJCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship
- 2020 NJCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships
- 2020 NJCAA Men’s and Women’s Half Marathon Championships
The new locations for these championships are unknown, but the association is accepting bids to host them.
The Div 1 Women’s soccer championship was pushed back to November 18-23 in Evansville, Georgia due to the fact that the PGA Masters, which is played in Augusta, Georgia, was rescheduled to conflict with the original date.
Due to the uncertainty regarding the second wave of the virus, winter sports have faced some changes to their practice schedules as well:
- The Men’s and Women’s Basketball seasons will begin practice starting September 14. Competition will be permitted to begin starting October 16. All member colleges are encouraged to adjust schedules as needed to limit competition between Thanksgiving (Nov 26) and January 1.
- Men’s and Women’s Bowling, Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving, and Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field seasons will be allowed to begin practice starting October 1. Competition will be permitted to begin October 30, but schools are encouraged to adjust their schedules to limit competition between Thanksgiving (Nov. 26) and January 1.
- The wrestling season will be adjusted to protect all student athletes with fall practices only allowed during the month of October. Then, regular season practices and competition may resume after January 1 and January 20, respectively.
At this time, the NJCAA has not made any adjustments to the spring sports season.
The association also declared that student-athletes will be responsible for following specific guidelines when returning to campus. This will include a 14-day quarantine period, with all athletes, regardless of season permitted to return to campuses beginning July 18.
With the announcement, the NJCAA joins several other collegiate organizations making adjustments due to the coronavirus. Recently, the NCAA has allowed all division 1 sports to resume voluntary activities.
