Yahoo Finance CIT canceled again due to COVID-19; Ivy League to allow one-time grad student waiver
The NCAA tournament may be planning to move forward this season, but at least one other postseason tournament is not.
The CollegeInsider.com tournament, or the CIT, announced Thursday that it was canceling the tournament for the second season in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2021," the CIT said in a statement. "The safety and welfare of student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans is paramount. Therefore we believe it is prudent to not hold our event this season. This was an easy decision.
"The NCAA has gone above and beyond to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants in the 2021 NCAA tournament and we look forward to 'taking a pause' and watching what is the best annual sporting event in the world."
— College Insider Inc. (@collegeinsider) February 11, 2021
The CIT, along with the College Basketball Invitational, are the lowest tier of the four postseason events, following the NCAA tournament and the National Invitational Tournament. They are exclusively made up of mid-major teams.
Marshall won the CIT in 2019, the last season it was held, with a 20-point win over Green Bay.
Ivy League to allow grad students extra year
The Ivy League will allow a one-time waiver for graduate students to compete next season in the conference due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference announced on Thursday.
The Ivy League traditionally doesn’t allow any graduate transfers to compete in sports, and will revert back to that policy after the 2021-22 school year.
"This change is a direct result of the pandemic and will not be available in future years," the Ivy League said in a statement, via ESPN. "The waiver provides current fourth-year students the opportunity to complete their athletics experience at their current institution in 2021-22 after staying on track to graduate in four years."
The Ivy League was the first conference in college sports to cancel its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments when the pandemic first hit in March, and has since canceled both fall and winter sports because of it.
According to ESPN, there are currently more than 20 men’s basketball players from the Ivy League in the NCAA’s transfer portal.
"Student-athletes who wish to take advantage of this waiver must be admitted to [and then enroll full-time] as a degree seeking graduate students through regular channels at their undergraduate institution," the Ivy League said, via ESPN. "They must receive waiver approval from their institution's 5th year advisor and the waiver request must be processed and approved by the Ivy League office. Existing Ivy League financial aid rules will continue to apply."
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