Anger swept across the nation when it was reported that U Sports wouldn’t grant an extra year of eligibility to those effected by the season cancellation and age restrictions.
Well, U Sports were listening and have decided to grant one-time relief of the existing regulations to all the currently eligible football student-athletes for the 2021 season.
The backlash began when U Sports announced they would be cancelling their entire fall sports season due to COVID-19. The announcement left many players in the dark about what their future would hold if they only had one year of age eligibility remaining this season.
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The story took a turn for the worse when Farhan Lalji reported that Chris Morris, head coach at the University of Alberta and president of the Canadian University Football Coaches Association (CUFCA), stated that the committee voted unanimously to extend the age cap for all student athletes, but U Sports decided to ignore their recommendation.
U Sports have now announced they will be beginning consultation with member universities and stakeholders to review its football eligibility policies with the recommendations due in February 2021. U Sports claim they have granted the extra year of eligibility as a result of the timeframe required to conduct the review.
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Official statement from U SPORTS: pic.twitter.com/k95YqNDxkS
— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) July 27, 2020
STATEMENT FROM U SPORTS
USPORTS announced Monday that it is beginning its consultation process with member universities and stakeholders to review its football eligibility policies.
“After discussions with our membership, we have determined that it’s an appropriate time to explore ways to improve the current safety and participation policies in football with an anticipated completion date of February 2021,” said Dick White, U SPORTS’ Interim Chief Executive Officer. “Although there are many negative impacts of the COVID pandemic, there are also opportunities to make some changes.”
As a result of the timeframe required to conduct the review, U SPORTS will provide a one-time exception to Policy 40.10.4.3.1.1, thereby permitting all currently eligible student-athletes to participate in the 2021 football season, even if they exceed the current policy before the start of the 2021 campaign.
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