When Kevin Sumlin spoke with the media this week one of the things he brought up more than once when discussing the possibility for a spring season is the future for players when it comes to their eligibility. The Pac-12 and Big Ten recently decided to postpone the fall sports season with the hope of playing in the spring semester.

Leaders in the Pac-12, including commissioner Larry Scott, said the league would push the NCAA for some flexibility when it comes to eligibility for athletes that are going to be impacted by the decision to move their season to the spring.

The NCAA answered that call with its decision Friday to approve a waiver that will allow all fall sports athletes an opportunity to add another season of eligibility no matter how many games they play in the 2020-21 academic year.

So, it doesn't matter if teams are able to get an entire season in this fall in other conferences or play in the spring like Arizona, an extra year will be available to athletes who wish to take advantage of it after the NCAA's decision Friday.

Because of that decision seniors who decided to take an extra year of eligibility will not have their scholarships counted against the program's limits for the 2021-22 academic year.

The NCAA made no specifications about how roster numbers will be impacted by the decision to approve the blanket waiver, but that is certainly a concern for all fall sports including football that currently has a scholarship cap of 85 players. Arizona already has 20 commitments for the 2021 class but could ultimately see some if its seniors and redshirt seniors return for another season of action no matter what happens this spring.

It will put programs in a difficult position and as of now that part of the decision lacks some clarity.

In addition to announcing its blanket waiver for fall sports athletes, the NCAA also approved a move of its fall championships to the spring. That is the hope anyway. The NCAA will only move its fall championships to the spring "if they can be conducted safely and in accordance with federal, state and local health guidelines."

While football has received much of the attention in recent weeks and months, there are other fall sports that have been impacted by the decisions from the Pac-12 and Big Ten including women's volleyball and women's soccer. The hope is that those sports can still have their championships in the spring if the conditions allow.

This decision does not impact football, however, which as of now is still planning to have the College Football Playoff even without the Pac-12, Big Ten and other conferences opting out of playing this fall.

The NCAA says its "priority remains preserving opportunities for winter and spring sport student-athletes who did not have the chance to participate in NCAA championships in 2019-20."

The NCAA Tournament on the men's and women's sides of college basketball was canceled earlier this year during the initial outbreak of COVID-19. The NCAA went on to cancel all spring championships as well with most of the spring season cut short because of health concerns.

“We want to provide opportunities for student-athletes whenever possible,” said acting board chair Denise Trauth, president of Texas State. “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.”

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