GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The NCAA announced Wednesday that its Division III winter championships are canceled for the 2020-21 academic year.
The decision was made due to low participation numbers among member schools, according to the NCAA. Winter sports at Calvin University and Hope College are affected by this change, along with other local schools like Kalamazoo College and Olivet College.
The national championships affected are men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s ice hockey, and wrestling.
Participation numbers for all these sports are well below the established threshold to provide a national championship, largely due to restrictions surrounding COVID-19. These established thresholds are 60% for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s and women’s indoor track and field; and 70% for men’s and women’s ice hockey and wrestling.
“This was a very difficult decision to make, and we are saddened to do so,” said Fayneese Miller, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Hamline.
“However, none of our winter sports meet the Championships Committee’s established thresholds of participation to hold a championship. We are committed to ensuring that our student-athletes have the best possible experience, and, for us, this means having a meaningful number of competitions. We hope this is possible for our spring championship.”
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