Ensure Our Eagles Finish Strong
On March 16, the Sun Belt Conference has announced that the league was canceling all organized athletics-related activities, including regular-season competitions, conference championships and practices, through the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year. This decision was made in consultation with the league's Presidents, Chancellors and Directors of Athletics to address growing concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The NCAA Division I Council voted on March 30, 2020 to allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility. Financial aid rules were adjusted to allow teams to carry more members on scholarship to account for incoming student-athletes and returning student-athletes who had been in their last year of eligibility who decide to stay.
The Council vote 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.
Upon the vote from the Council, GS director of athletics Jared Benko and his staff first met with head coaches of spring sports to see how many senior student-athletes would be interested in returning for the 2020-21 academic year. Georgia Southern’s spring sport rosters included 21 scholarship seniors, 14 of whom have committed to returning next season or are still making their decision. The total cost of the aid is expected to be around $140,000 and will come from fundraising and prudent cost cutting in other areas.
In conjunction with the University, we're trying to make sure all Eagles #FinishStrong and have launched a fundraising campaign to support the effort. Below are all the links, letters and stories from the seniors who were affected by the announcement.
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