The Council of Presidents for the National Association of Intercollege Athletics decided Tuesday to move most fall sports championships in 2020 to spring 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision affects men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. The NAIA said the decision does not affect football at the moment, but the organization wanted to get more feedback from schools and colleagues of the COP. A decision on football will be determined at Friday’s COP meeting.

“The NAIA realizes there are a wide range of considerations that come with postponing fall championships,” NAIA president and CEO Jim Carr said in a news release. “However, our first priority is making sure our student-athletes are not penalized by this decision. That will likely require temporary rule changes and accommodations as related to eligibility and seasons of competition, which the NAIA governance groups will begin further defining this week.”

The decision comes 11 days after Lewis-Clark State College’s new conference, the Cascade, made the same decision, postponing all sports until at least Nov. 1. The decision impacts LCSC’s cross country and volleyball teams.

For more, see Wednesday’s Tribune.