After weeks of rumors, the NCAA made it official: seniors will be granted one more season of eligibility due to COVID-19 cancellations. The NCAA’s Division 1 Council voted and the eligibility rules Monday.

NCAA on Twitter: “DI Council grants waiver to allow additional eligibility for spring sport athletes whose seasons were impacted by COVID-19: https://t.co/v1zriEBDvR pic.twitter.com/g9BbOkmnt0 / Twitter”

DI Council grants waiver to allow additional eligibility for spring sport athletes whose seasons were impacted by COVID-19: https://t.co/v1zriEBDvR pic.twitter.com/g9BbOkmnt0

Seniors who thought their college careers would be cut short now have the chance to come back to campus to finish off a full season. For the Illini, this involves athletes who play baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s track and field. This does not include basketball players who didn’t get to play in postseason tournaments.

In order to make this work, the NCAA has stated that roster sizes will not include seniors, thus teams can be over the usual amount of players allowed on a roster. It’s still unclear if most athletes will take advantage of this opportunity, but at least they now have a choice.

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