Tag Archive for: NCAA DIII Blanket Waiver

Recent action taken by NCAA Division III leadership will permit D3 student-athletes to retain a season of participation for the 2020-21 academic year if their team can only complete 50% or less of the maximum permissible competition in their sport.

For those of you who may not know, Division III rules do not recognize a “redshirt” season for a student-athlete in the same way that NCAA Division I and II do.

In Division III, an athlete uses one of their four “seasons of participation” if they as much as just practice with their team on or after the day that begins their sport season – even if they never appear in an actual game for their team during that season.

With this blanket waiver in place, a D3 student-athlete will not be charged with one of their four seasons of participation for the 2020-21 academic year if their team is not able to compete in at least 50% of the maximum competitions or dates of competition that are permissible in their sport.

The Division III Administrative Committee noted that “The proactive blanket waiver allows student-athletes to make informed enrollment decisions prior to the academic year.”

If you would like to schedule a confidential discussion to review how this blanket waiver may impact your student-athlete, as well as how the season of participation rule overlaps with the Division III rule limiting participation to 10 semesters or 15 quarters of attendance, schedule a confidential waivers and appeals consult online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or give us a call at 913-766-1235.

There are a couple of unique aspects of NCAA Division III’s granting of an automatic or blanket waiver for spring sport athletes that we want to share with you.

The way that NCAA Division III is applying their “blanket waiver” for spring sport athletes due to COVID-19 is that – in effect – the 2020 spring semester “didn’t happen.”

In other words, a Division III spring sport athlete will not be charged with a season of participation during this academic year AND will not be considered to have used one of their 10 semesters (or 15 quarters) of full-time enrollment.

In addition, for those Division III colleges that conduct their conference golf or tennis season in the Fall, those student-athletes will still be able to benefit from the Division III blanket waiver. This is because golf and tennis are officially considered spring sports by the NCAA, even though some conferences conduct those two sport seasons in the Fall.

If you have questions about your remaining eligibility and need objective advice, schedule a confidential Eligibility Issues online, call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.