NCAA: Schools must honour opt-out eligibility

The NCAA has said that schools must honour athletes’ scholarships if they choose to opt out of the 2020 season on health concerns, the ruling body said in a release.

It added that should that happen, the scholarship MUST be honoured by the university, putting paid to worries that a player who opted-out would simply lose his scholarship – funnily enough costing teams leverage, but actually doing the right thing.

Also, it said that schools “may not require student-athletes to waive their legal rights regarding COVID-19 as a condition of athletics participation”, which puts paid to a lot of schools asking players to sign waivers.

Other measures included the requiring schools to cover COVID-19-related medical expenses for student athletes “to prevent out-of-pocket expenses for college athletes and their families”, adding safety enhancements such as “regular testing, separation of college athletes and essential personnel from all other nonessential personnel, and physical distancing and masking policies during all aspects of non-competition.”