The NCAA Board of Directors has approved the planning of conducting fall sports championships in spring of 2021, assuming circumstances pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic will allow it. The association made the announcement on Friday.

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors met on Friday to discuss the possibility of moving the fall sports championships to spring. Last week, the association made the decision to suspend all fall sports championships due to the uncertainties of the pandemic.

With the decision approved, fall sports athletes will now have an opportunity to compete for a national championship in the spring.

“We want to provide opportunities for student-athletes whenever possible,” said Denise Trauth, acting chair of the Board of Directors and Texas State University president. “We understand it will be complicated and different, and we’re not certain how it will look, but we believe it’s important to try to give students that championship experience.”

This decision does not apply to FBS football.

Additionally, the NCAA has approved a blanket waiver for eligibility for the 2020-21 fall sports student-athletes. Regardless of the number of competitions they participate in, all fall student-athletes will not have a year of eligibility used against them this year.

The decision on eligibility does apply to student-athletes in all sports, including FBS football.