Uncertainty over whether there will be college football or any other fall sport this year is only growing.
On Wednesday, the NCAA Board of Governors announced that decisions on whether fall sports would be played would be left up to the three divisions. Shortly thereafter, Divisions II and III announced that there will be no fall championships in football, volleyball, soccer and cross country this year. The Division II cancellation affects South Dakota schools Augustana, University of Sioux Falls and Northern State, all members of the NSIC. Through Wednesday, neither that conference nor those schools had given any word on whether they would carry on with fall sports. Recently, the NSIC said that fall sports would be delayed, with a September start for competition.
The Division I Board of Directors left the decision on whether to play up to the Division I council. So, the fate of South Dakota State and University of South Dakota fall sports is still up in the air. A decision by DI must be made by August 21. So far, the Missouri Valley Conference, where SDSU and USD both play football, has committed to have a football season. Some other FCS conferences have chosen to play, but some have not. There are 127 FCS schools in football and at least 64 of them must participate for there to be playoffs.
The postseason in FBS is not controlled by the NCAA. Major conferences are, for now, planning to play. On Wednesday, the Big Ten announced a 10-game conference-only schedule that will begin on Labor Day weekend and includes flexibility. Conversely, Connecticut, which was to have played as an independent this season after leaving the American Athletic Conference, announced Wednesday that its football season has been cancelled. UConn is the first FBS program to call the season off.
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