KANSAS CITY, MO&nbsp;– The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Council of Presidents (COP) voted on Friday to postpone the fall national football championship to spring 2021. This decision came after the COP voted earlier this week to postpone championships in all other fall sports until spring. This decision still allows NAIA conferences to compete in the fall and winter, if they so choose.“The decision regarding the football championship required additional attention since the sport often operates outside of the regular conference structure,” said Dr. Arvid Johnson, COP Chair and University of St. Francis President. “The extra time allotted was to ensure that the COP representatives had adequate opportunity to gain feedback from their conference colleagues.”The COP noted that the decision to move the football championship from the fall to spring is more inclusive for all NAIA member institutions, especially those schools that are restricted by local or state mandates from holding athletics competitions this fall.“Moving the football championship to the spring was the right thing to do for the well-being of our student-athletes,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “The decision also provides additional flexibility for our conferences and institutions to account for regional differences and plan their regular season accordingly.”About the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)&nbsp;The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. NAIA members provide more than 77,000 student-athletes with opportunities to play college sports, earn $800 million in scholarships and compete in 27 national championships.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.naia.org/admin/tinymce4/www.naia.org">www.naia.org</a>&nbsp;| @NAIA

NAIA postpones football championship to spring 2021