COVID-19’s Effect on Sport Recruiting and Signing

While spring athletic contests have been canceled across the country, IVCC coaches are continuing to recruit to fill rosters.

According to Cory Tomasson, Athletic Director and women’s softball coach at IVCC, the NJCAA did not forbid recruiting, they simply stopped face-to-face recruiting. 

“Most IVCC coaches already had most of their 2020-2021 recruits in place,” stated Tomasson. “There may still be some additions to teams, but the fact that these are spring sports will allow coaches the time they need to add these players.”

In terms of players signing letters of intent, players are still able to be signed and finalized, they just won’t have the opportunity to have the coaches and athletes together.

Tomasson stated that a bigger issue is recruiting players for next year.

“Many coaches recruit their spring athletes based on their junior year prior to them participating in the sport their senior year,” said Tomasson. 

The IVCC Athletic Department plans to keep moving forward with the intent of resuming all athletics for the 2020-2021 school year, but necessary adjustments will be made as needed.

COVID-19 is affecting the whole world, including college sports across the nation. To keep all athletes safe from COVID-19, the NJCAA canceled all athletic contests and practices.

All spring sports have at IVCC have been affected by this change, including men’s baseball, women’s softball, men’s tennis, and golf.

Currently, the NJCAA, NCAA, and NAIA are considering the spring 2020 sports season as a season of non-participation for all spring sports athletes; in other words, they will not lose this season of eligibility to participate in collegiate athletics.