COVID-19/Fall 2020
NEW: COP Postpones Multiple Fall Championships to Spring 2021

The Council of Presidents voted on July 29 to postpone cross country, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball championships until spring 2021. This decision still allows NAIA conferences to compete in the fall and winter, if they so choose. The timing of the football national championship will be determined by the COP on Friday, July 31. 

The COP also voted to provide more flexibility with the current testing mandate of requiring a PCR test for of all fall student-athletes seven days prior to competition. The NAIA strongly recommends that individual conferences and institutions carefully consider the best way to deploy testing to support the safe return to athletics.


NEW: Updated Health & Safety FAQs

The Health & Safety FAQs have been updated to reflect the COP decisions made this week. There are still many considerations to be taken into account when postponing championships. NAIA governance groups have already started meeting to navigate these issues in a way that will not penalize our student-athletes.

Scheduling and Competition FAQs will be updated after the COP meeting on July 31. Please email any questions to [email protected] .

COVID-19 Resources

Below are membership resources currently available:

FAQs related to the impact of COVID-19 on:
Rules
NEW: Rule Modifications
The NAC Executive Committee passed rule modifications for several fall sports to help with physical distancing and student-athlete safety.
News
NEW: NAC Executive Committee Decisions
The NAC Executive Committee met earlier this week and made decisions related to conference qualifiers, the 2020 men's soccer championship calendar, and women's beach volleyball. The executive committee also voted to change the minimum number of competitions for cross country from 4 to 3.
NEW: NAIA Academy Now Open
The NAIA Academy is open for 2020-21. Questions? Email [email protected].
Update NAIAHelp Information
Please login to NAIAHelp and update any personnel changes to help insure the correct individuals are receiving the most relevant communications from the NAIA.
Changes Coming to the Year-End Report
The NAIA's Year-End Report (YER) is undergoing changes in 2020. Traditionally, the YER has been due on September 30. Beginning in 2020, the deadline will be moved to December 1 .

The extended deadline is to help schools prepare for the YER's new requirements, which will include Return on Athletics ®
(ROA) data. Institutions that have previously submitted ROA data will already be familiar with the process. For institutions that have not participated in ROA, resources are available to assist with the submission process.

A benefit to the new data submission process is that all institutions will have access to the ROA Insights data analytics tool in spring 2021. For more information, contact Alan Grosbach at 816.595.8120.
Eligibility
NEW: Avoid Potential Decision Delays

In conjunction with the recent decision to move fall championships to the spring, the eligibility center encourages students to still complete their profiles and receive fall 2020 decisions. Given the flexibility in the COP decision, schools and conferences are able to determine unique approaches to returning to play in the fall, which may be later than normal. To avoid any potential delays as the fall progresses, we encourage students to complete the eligibility process now by completing their required tasks.
Championships
Opening Round Facility Certification
Member schools who wish to bid to host a national championship opening round for the 2020-21 year must have completed their facility certified to host. (Once approved, certifications last for five years.) The deadline for the certification application is September 1, 2020 for all sports. Facilities that were denied previously and have made facility improvements are encouraged to reapply. 

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