The CCAA Executive Council Steering Committee, based on a recommendation from the conference directors of athletics, has approved a revision to its policies for basketball games affected by COVID-19. For the 2021-22 season, games that are unable to be played due to COVID-related circumstances will now be declared a 'no contest' rather than a 'forfeit.' This policy will also apply to any conference basketball games that were previously ruled a forfeit prior to the change of policy.

These changes are being made with the consideration of the recent surge of the Omicron variant, which is impacting fully-vaccinated individuals, and aligning with NCAA standards that if a team does not appear or a game is not started due to circumstances such as weather conditions, accidents, breakdown of vehicles, illness, or catastrophic causes, a no contest is declared.

Qualification for the CCAA Basketball Tournament powered by Under Armour, will now be determined by winning percentage. The top six teams in the men's and women's standings by winning percentage will play March 3-5 in Arcata to determine who will earn the CCAA's automatic bids. 

This decision reverses an Aug. 25 decision which ruled that a canceled CCAA competition would be declared a 'forfeit' by the team that caused the cancellation due to COVID-19 protocols. 

"The CCAA has been a leader when it comes to considering the health and safety of our student-athletes, and all 12 institutions will continue to work towards that goal," said CCAA Commissioner Mitch Cox. "We have now seen this new variant impact vaccinated people and the feeling is there should not be a negative outcome for those programs who have to responsibly deal with an outbreak of cases."

The CCAA continues to follow the COVID-19 guidelines outlined by the NCAA unless local restrictions are more stringent. The NCAA recommendations and additional resources from the Sport Science Institute are available at ncaa.org. 

The CCAA has allowed each member institution to use county guidelines and discretion on fan attendance for home contests. To view information on each institution's campus COVID-19 policies for fans, click here. (subject to change)

As medical and scientific data continues to develop around the pandemic, the CCAA will continue to monitor and take additional actions as needed.