KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The NAIA national office, in partnership with leaders of the association, continues to plan for the fall season. Guided by the health and safety of student-athletes, the NAIA announced some return to play policies and guidelines for all fall sports. Highlights from the announcement are below, but fans can read the full release here or by clicking the link in the box to the right.

A return to play threshold has been set in which a season may not begin until half of the participating institutions in each sport receive clearance from local authorities to return to competition before the season can begin. This is to provide a significant competitive and championship-caliber experience for student-athletes. 

The second policy in place regards the start dates of both practice and competition. Practice start dates for all sports have been set for August 15. Conditioning may take place before this date as long as they are not "practices" as defined by the NAIA. Also, no scrimmages, exhibitions, or competitions of any kind that involve individuals not identified with Madonna may take place prior to the competition date. 

All sports, except football, can begin competition on September 5 while football can begin September 12. These start dates apply to all sports that schedule practices or competitions in the fall.

The third decision made by the NAIA effects the maximum number of contests allowed. Cross country will be limited to seven meets, football can play nine games, men's and women's soccer can play 14 while volleyball will have 22 dates. The reductions are proportional to the shortened seasons and are consistent with recent feedback from presidents, athletics directors, and commissioners expressing a desire to reduce regular season costs. In addition, the NAIA intends to host all fall national championship events as currently scheduled.

While these decisions do affect current fall schedules, coaches are working diligently to make modifications and those will be released once they become available. Also, at this time no decision has been made regarding fan attendance. More information regarding Madonna University's return to play plan will be released when it is available. 

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