TCU Athletics Competition COVID-19 Updates
3/12/2020 3:25:00 PM | Baseball, Equestrian, General, Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Men's Indoor Track, Women's Beach Volleyball, Women's Cross Country, Women's Indoor Track, Swimming and Diving, Men's Outdoor Track, Women's Outdoor Track
UPDATE (April 1, 2:39 p.m.) -- The NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee and the Division II Administrative Committee extended the recruiting dead period through May 31. The committees will continue to be guided by experts to determine whether the date needs to be extended.
UPDATE (March 30, 5:50 p.m. ) -- The NCAA Division I Council on Monday voted to allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility.
Members also adjusted financial aid rules to allow teams to carry more members on scholarship to account for incoming recruits and student-athletes who had been in their last year of eligibility who decide to stay. In a nod to the financial uncertainty faced by higher education, the Council vote also provided schools with the flexibility to give students the opportunity to return for 2020-21 without requiring that athletics aid be provided at the same level awarded for 2019-20. This flexibility applies only to student-athletes who would have exhausted eligibility in 2019-20.
Schools also will have the ability to use the NCAA's Student Assistance Fund to pay for scholarships for students who take advantage of the additional eligibility flexibility in 2020-21.
Division I rules limit student-athletes to four seasons of competition in a five-year period. The Council's decision allows schools to self-apply waivers to restore one of those seasons of competition for student-athletes who had competed while eligible in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 spring season
The Council also will allow schools to self-apply a one-year extension of eligibility for spring-sport student-athletes, effectively extending each student's five-year "clock" by a year. This decision was especially important for student-athletes who had reached the end of their five-year clock in 2020 and saw their seasons end abruptly.
"The Council's decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level," said Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Penn. "The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that."
Winter sports were not included in the decision. Council members declined to extend eligibility for student-athletes in sports where all or much of their regular seasons were completed.
The Council also increased the roster limit in baseball for student-athletes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the only spring sport with such a limit.
UPDATE (March 29, 7:00 p.m.) -- Due to the on-going developments related to COVID-19, the Big 12 Conference previously announced that all organized team activities whether organized or voluntary, including team and individual practices, meetings, and other organized gatherings, were suspended until March 29 and would be re-evaluated at that time. In addition, all conference and non-conference competitions were canceled through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year.
1. No organized, in-person team activities of any type, in any location.
2. No in-person, voluntary workouts, film study sessions, meetings, technique drills or captains' practices/OTA sessions of any type, in any location until a permissible date is established by the NCAA.
3. Virtual or on-line supervised physical workouts and skill instruction, regardless of location, are not permitted.
4. All "virtual" group activities, including film study, are limited to four hours per week in all sports. Only countable coaches may conduct virtual film study, technical discussions, tactical sessions and other non-physical activities. These policies will be revisited and adjusted at regular intervals and as circumstances dictate.
5. Coaches can recommend written, self-directed workout plans provided they are approved in accordance with proper procedures as outlined by each institution's appropriate sport performance, medical and/or athletic training personnel (and in accordance with the NCAA Recommendations on Preventing Catastrophic Injury and Death). Taped demonstration videos on respective workout plans are allowed in order to demonstrate proper form and technique. Institutional personnel may not supervise, conduct or monitor workouts on or off campus.
6. In-person, on campus meals and nutritional supplements may be provided in situations where student-athletes are unable to leave campus. Off-campus nutritional supplements are limited to the permissible items as outlined in NCAA Bylaw 16.5.2.8.
7. It is fully permissible to provide non-athletically-related support to student-athletes including:
-- sports medicine treatments, physical therapy and rehabilitation
-- academic support
-- mental health and wellness support
8. It is permissible for institutions to provide off-campus student-athletes with apparel and personal equipment that is regularly available to student-athletes when they are on campus for conditioning workouts. The provision of other equipment is not to extend to rental, purchase or arrangement of conditioning or strength training equipment or machines (e.g. stationary bicycles, treadmills, free weights, benches or weight machines) but is intended to allow for reasonable supplies such as stretching band/straps, foam rollers, etc.
9. Prospective student-athletes may not be involved in any capacity in any countable activities, including virtual activities.
10. The Big 12 Conference Board and Directors of Athletics will convene regularly to assess changing circumstances and to make shared decisions regarding amendments to the above-listed policies. The policies noted will commence at 7 a.m. CDT, Monday, March 30, 2020, and remain in effect until May 31, 2020, or until additional guidance is provided.
11. Decisions on the structure, schedule and components of training during the post Pandemic period will be made as circumstances dictate.
UPDATE (March 13, 6:00 p.m.) -- Due to the on-going developments related to COVID-19, the Big 12 Conference announced that all organized team activities whether organized or voluntary, including team and individual practices, meetings, and other organized gatherings, have been suspended until March 29 and will be re-evaluated at that time. In addition, all conference and non-conference competitions are canceled through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year.
UPDATE (March 12, 3:20 p.m.) -- The Big 12 Conference announced that beginning Friday, March 13, it is suspending all regular-season competitions, on- and off-campus recruiting and out-of-season practices until Sunday, March 29.
UPDATE (March 12, 3:16 p.m.) -- The NCAA canceled remaining winter and spring championships.
UPDATE (March 12, 11:40 a.m.) -- The Big 12 announced the immediate suspension of all Conference championships until April 15, resulting in the cancellation of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Championships.
FORT WORTH (March 11, 6:22 p.m.) -- In following university policy of no public events on campus due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, and consistent with recent Big 12 and NCAA decisions, all TCU home athletics events until April 3 are closed to fans and available only to essential personnel and a limited number of family members of participating student-athletes.
Essential personnel are student-athletes, coaches, trainers, team and medical personnel, game officials, operational and administrative staff, student-athlete families, credentialed media and TCU recruits.
The affected contests include the following:
Baseball
Maryland, March 13-15
Sam Houston State, March 17
Oklahoma, March 27-29
Men's Tennis
Columbia, March 21
Oklahoma State, March 27
Oklahoma, March 29
Women's Tennis
Kansas, March 27
Kansas State, March 29
Baylor, April 1
Beach Volleyball
Houston Baptist, April 3
Pepperdine, April 3
Track and Field
TCU Invitational, March 21
Additionally, the March 28 open spring football practice and scrimmage has been canceled, while the dedication of the Legends Club & Suites will be rescheduled.
The March 13 and March 28 baseball games versus Maryland and Oklahoma, respectively, will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest Plus, while the March 29 Oklahoma contest can be seen on ESPNU. Non-televised baseball games are available through a free stream on GoFrogs.com and the Riff Ram app.
More information will be communicated soon to baseball season-ticket holders and those who made single-game purchases. Also, the deadline for football season-ticket renewals has been extended to April 17. Questions can be directed to the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office at 817.257-3764 (FROG) or tickets@tcu.edu.
During this time, TCU teams will continue to practice and compete while following university protocol when it comes to travel with only essential personnel.
Further updates regarding the impact of COVID-19 on TCU Athletics events will be posted on GoFrogs.com as well as communicated through Twitter (@TCU_Athletics).
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