Miami Hurricanes AD Blake James surprised sports were cancelled

In an interview with Sirius XM ACC Radio, Miami Hurricanes athletic director Blake James stated he was surprised with the cancellation of spring sports by the NCAA board of governors.

Nick Kosko of 247 Sports transcribed an interview of Miami Hurricanes athletic director Blake James on Sirius XM ACC Radio discussing the decision by the NCAA board of governors to cancel all winter and spring championships. About a half dozen Miami Athletic teams are affected by the decision, mostly spring sports teams.

James told ACC Radio that the decision to cancel was made through the association that NCAA members schools in Divisions I, II and III have with the board of governors. James was surprised by the decision and saw the reasoning to cancel but did not know if it needed to be done.

James acknowledged that not everyone would make the same decisions, but that the board is put in place to make those decisions. The Miami Hurricanes athletic director conceded the need to support the administrators and the decisions that were made. All winter and spring sports were canceled as of Thursday.

Additional news was released by the NCAA that seniors in spring sports would be granted an extra year of eligibility after having their final season initially canceled. That is far more complicated than appears on the surface. Athletes expected to get drafted or with imminent professional careers are likely to leave.

The Miami players most affected are the ace of the Miami baseball team, pitcher Brian VanBell and defending NCAA Women’s Tennis champion Estella Perez-Somarriba. The likelihood is that even though they have the option of returning for an extra season with professional careers waiting they will choose to leave.

James gave a full explanation to ACC Radio on his opinion about the decision to cancel NCAA Championships for the remainder of the academic year and his reasoning behind the thought process. The Miami AD also explained the structure that is in place and the administrators behind those decisions.

"“The association we set up with the board of governors with Divisions I, II and III and we have a board of directors for Division I and I think in this case it was the board of governors that really made the decision.That’s the organizational structure we have. Was I surprised they cancelled the spring championships? I was. I can see reasoning for it. I don’t know that we needed to do it. But that was a decision they made and that the leadership structure we have in place it’s something that I support.(You have to) understand in every situation, they are not going to make a decision that everyone would make but they’ve been put in those positions and put on the spot to make those decisions and they made those decisions and those are the ones we’ll support.”"

The NCAA is also reportedly considering granting an extra season of eligibility to athletes in winter sports. The Miami Hurricanes athletes that will have a decision to make are men’s basketball players Dejan Vasiljevic and Keith Stone and women’s player Beatrice Mompremier. All three have professional careers waiting.

Vasiljevic and Stone likely to play overseas. Vasiljevic could return to his native Austalia to play professionally. Mompremier is projected to be a late first-round pick in the WNBA Draft. She has already put in five seasons in college after sitting out the 2017-18 season as a transfer from Baylor to Miami.

There is going to be a lot for the NCAA and the member schools in Division I and II to work out with scholarships with seniors that return for their fifth season of eligibility and for all three levels of competition in relation to roster size. It could make the transfer portal an even more attractive option for some athletes.