The NCAA Division I Board of Directors announced Friday that all fall sport student-athletes will receive both an additional year of eligibility and an additional year in which to complete it, as the NCAA Division I Council suggested, through a blanket waiver.

Even athletes who compete this fall will be eligible for an extra year of eligibility.

“Student-athletes who do not enroll full time during the 2020 fall term have flexibility in the progress-toward-degree requirements that must be met for eligibility in future terms,” the NCAA said in a release.

This is similar to the NCAA’s decision in the spring when sports were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Big Ten announced Aug. 11 that all fall sports in the conference had been postponed due to COVID-19.

The NCAA later announced that fall sports championships could not be held due to the pandemic, and on Friday also said that it will work toward hosting scaled back fall championships in the spring. This applies to all sports except FBS football.

In a release, the NCAA said board members cautioned that fall championships should be played in the spring only if they can be conducted safely and in accordance with federal, state, and local health guidelines.

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

The board also adopted the Council-recommended protections for college athletes:

• Schools are prohibited from requiring student-athletes to waive legal rights regarding COVID-19 as a condition of athletics participation.
• Schools are prohibited from canceling or reducing athletics scholarships if a college athlete in any sport opts not to participate due to COVID-19.
• Student-athletes who do not enroll full time during the 2020 fall term have flexibility in the progress-toward-degree requirements that must be met for eligibility in future terms.
• The financial aid of fall sport senior student-athletes who take advantage of the additional year of eligibility and extended clock will not count against team limits in 2021-22.
• Schools are required to:
• Review current insurance coverage for all student-athletes who are competing this fall.
• Inform student-athletes about the risk classification of their sport as outlined in the Resocialization of Collegiate Sport document.
• Inform student-athletes how the mandates in the Resocialization of Collegiate Sport document are being met at their campus.

These protections are effective immediately.