When the NCAA halted college sports in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the early measures of goodwill was to grant student-athletes playing spring sports an extra year of eligibility.
It offered a glimmer of relief for the future and served as a necessary moment of saving face by the NCAA. But is the NCAA’s motive worth it? Power Five programs with bigger pockets can likely afford to take a small hit, but what about schools like Western Kentucky?
A smaller revenue distribution is already on the way from the NCAA, so what is the hit when college athletics’ largest governing body votes for the approval to extend seniors’ eligibility into 2020-21, which inevitably forces schools to spend more money they don’t have?