The NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a plan Tuesday afternoon for fall sports’ championships to be held in the spring.

The Board of Directors made its decision based on recommendations from the Division I Council that were supported by the Presidential Forum.

DI Board of Directors approves plan for holding fall championships in spring: https://t.co/AkIswbjBzH pic.twitter.com/8hsa60ohPX

— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) September 22, 2020

The plan was formed last month by the Division I Competition Oversight Committee and includes spring championship plans for men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, and men’s water polo.

Acting Board Chair Denise Trauth stated that the plan “provides the maximum number of opportunities to fall student-athletes to participate in NCAA championships while still being fiscally responsible.”

Several changes to the spring championship schedule include reduced bracket sizes and automatic qualification for specific conferences. Team sport brackets will be filled to 75% of their normal capacities.

The Board of Governors has also suggested that all sites of each championship be predetermined and the number of sites for preliminary-round contests be reduced.

Schedule recommendations for football apply to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), not Penn State or any other Power Five programs.

Take a look at the NCAA’s full guidelines for fall championships here:

The NCAA added that contests conducted in the fall for championships scheduled for the spring “will count toward selection into that respective championship.”

That addition doesn’t currently apply to Penn State and the Big Ten, as football is the only fall sport set to play this semester. The conference announced its plans to reinstate the season last week, and teams will have a chance to quality for the regularly scheduled College Football Playoff.

When asked about fall sports other than football during a press conference last week, Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour stated that it wouldn’t make much sense to play this semester since championships won’t be played until the spring.

“The biggest impediment is that the NCAA has now moved the championships to the spring,” Barbour said. “What’s the interface with those contests as it relates to a spring championship? I think that’s the biggest question there.”