The NCAA Division I Council voted Monday to grant an extra year of eligibility to all spring-sport athletes, extending careers across college athletics.

With seasons canceled earlier this month as coronavirus spread through the country, the decision gave thousands of student-athletes, particularly seniors, a chance to end their careers with a full season.

Typical eligibility rules limit college athletes to four seasons of competition, but the 2020 campaigns had just started when leagues shut down throughout the country, sending many student-athletes home without closure.

The council approved a blanket waiver for all spring-sport athletes, and it adjusted scholarship restrictions to allow teams to carry more players. Schools can offer less financial aid or match what they gave to those who were seniors this semester, evaluating each case on an individual basis.

“It's going to be expensive, but I think it's worth it,” LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said. “I think it's worth our student-athletes having another opportunity if they want that.”

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The NCAA did not include winter sports, such as basketball, gymnastics and swimming, as the council “declined to extend eligibility for student-athletes in sports where all or much of their regular seasons were completed,” the NCAA said in a release.

The council also increased the 35-man roster limit in baseball, the only spring sport with a roster cap, to account for a surplus of student-athletes. This summer, MLB holds the right to shorten its draft, possibly driving more players to school.

The NCAA canceled the remainder of its winter and spring championships on March 12. The next day, the governing body announced it “agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports.” The statement did not reflect an official decision.

The 41-member council, which consists of athletic directors, athletic administrators, senior women administrators, faculty athletics representatives and current student-athletes, released its final decision Monday evening.

“The council’s decision gives individual schools the flexibility to make decisions at a campus level,” said M. Grace Calhoun, council chair and athletics director at Penn, in a statement. “The Board of Governors encouraged conferences and schools to take action in the best interest of student-athletes and their communities, and now schools have the opportunity to do that.”

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According to a USA Today analysis, granting eligibility relief to seniors on spring-sports teams will cost Power Five athletic departments between $500,000 and $900,000 per school. With the NCAA granting the schools flexibility, athletic departments will decide how much money they spend.

After the NCAA last week slashed distribution from about $600 million to $225 million for its Division I schools, athletic departments faced a financial crunch as they grappled with the possibility that coronavirus will affect football season.

The NCAA said schools can use the NCAA’s student assistance fund, which helps Division I schools with other financial needs, to help pay for scholarships for students who use their extended eligibility next school year.

Before the vote, Power Five conference representatives from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee released a joint statement. They made three recommendations: support for food and housing in the wake of cancellations, an extra year of eligibility to spring-sport athletes and winter-sport athletes who qualified for the postseason and scholarship renewals for returning seniors that didn’t count toward scholarship limits.

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The NCAA’s decision restored a lost season for student-athletes, giving seniors the choice between returning to school or beginning their professional careers. It also allowed athletic departments financial flexibility.

Rules will temporarily change to accommodate athletes who use another season of eligibility, but the release did not specify how much the roster and scholarship limits will increase or for how long.

With scholarships divided between players in spring sports, families will have to decide whether they can afford another year of school. Though athletic departments can decrease financial aid, Woodward said he assumed offers at LSU will be “very generous” and match the ones student-athletes received this semester.

“I wasn’t planning on going to LSU for a fifth year,” LSU senior pitcher Matthew Beck said last week on After Further Review. “If they cover it with a scholarship, then obviously it’s 100% yes. No doubt.”

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Granting another season of eligibility may affect teams for years. Coaches recruit with graduating classes in mind, projecting ahead as they build their rosters. A current freshman could now play until 2024.

As the virus continues to spread through the country and governments extend stay-at-home orders, athletic departments must now figure out how to pay for extra scholarships when incoming freshmen arrive at school.

“We are going to have financial strain,” Woodward said, “but in the end, it was the right thing to do.”