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Group of Five commissioners ask NCAA for membership relief

Updated April 14, 2020 - 6:43 pm

The Group of Five commissioners, including Craig Thompson of the Mountain West, sent NCAA president Mark Emmert a signed letter asking rules that dictate Division I membership be temporarily suspended.

Yahoo Sports posted the three-page letter with a three-page attachment asking for up to a four-year relief period that also addressed Football Bowl Subdivision membership minimums, including that a school sponsor at least 16 sports.

If approved, the chances of sports being cut would increase. Cincinnati ended its men’s soccer program Tuesday and Old Dominion its wrestling team on April 2.

The Group of Five commissioners also asked for waiver requests regarding scheduling, scholarship, contest and participant minimums in each sport as well as for attendance minimums in football and an elimination of the requirement that basketball and football players participate in summer conditioning programs.

Those commissioners, who represent the FBS leagues outside the Power Five, urged the NCAA to take such steps because of the financial fallout universities and athletic programs are experiencing caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Crucial revenue was lost when the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments were canceled along with many conference tourneys. The Mountain West was able to complete its men’s and women’s tournaments at the Thomas & Mack Center before the coronavirus shutdown.

“We have been working closely with our membership for the past few weeks developing potential options to address the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Thompson said in a statement. “Other conferences are engaged in the same process. This collaborative request from the Group of Five is intended as the sort of creative alternative these unprecedented times demand.

“The waivers of NCAA legislation would create a permissive environment, allowing each institution and conference across the Division I landscape the necessary flexibility to determine how best to proceed in making financial adjustments which are intended to preserve sports and opportunities for student-athletes.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.

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