Since the coronavirus started spreading more rapidly throughout the U.S, most sports, college and professional, have been suspended or canceled. With this cancelation, many college athletes have been stripped of their seasons. The NCAA officially canceled all spring sports on Mar. 12 as well as canceling conference tournaments and national tournaments from winter sports. NCAA baseball players, golfers, lacrosse players and tennis players among many more have all been granted an extra year of eligibility due to the termination of their seasons. However, the winter athletes who have not finished their seasons, such as basketball players, will not be getting an extra year, which includes all of the seniors. While the regular season was already over, conferences ended their tournaments early and the most anticipated event of the whole season, the NCAA national basketball tournament, March Madness, was canceled. 

Winter athletes who had not finished their seasons should be granted an extra year of eligibility because they have put in too much work to not even get a chance at playing in the national tournament. Seniors who have worked for four years to win a national championship are being robbed of that opportunity because of nothing that they can control. Canceling March Madness deprives athletes of a chance to prove themselves as pro material. Year after year, athletes prove themselves in the postseason. Stephen Curry did it with Davidson and Ja Morant did it with Murray State. Curry would not be where he is today if it was not for the performance he put on during March Madness. The coronavirus is something that no one could have foreseen and canceling sports to help the cause is reasonable, but not without recompensating athletes with an extra season. 

A simple solution of giving winter-sport athletes another year of eligibility is an option that I think would give athletes their fair chance at fulfilling their life long dream of winning a national championship as well as giving them a chance to prove themselves as elite athletes. Doing this would not cause more complications than there already are with the spring-sport eligibility extension. So, why not?