The NCAA didn’t want to bring any controversy prior to the College Football Playoff Championship game between Clemson and Alabama. Clemson was scheduled to have limited practices compared to Alabama because the two schools have different academic schedules. The NCAA decided simply to lift those limitations and let Clemson have their scheduled practice time in preparation of the championship game.
Clemson said prior to this new development that they were going to respect the rules and players wouldn’t miss class unless they were allowed to by the professor but athletic director Dan Radakovich welcomed the lifted ban.
“We’re appreciative of the NCAA working with us in granting this waiver to assist in our preparations for next Monday’s game while maintaining our commitment to student-athlete welfare,” athletic director Dan Radakovich said in a statement. “As Coach [Dabo] Swinney pointed out, this was not going to be a big difference maker in our team’s schedule, but it’s great they’ve reached a solution that prioritizes the well-being of our student-athletes while allowing them to adequately prepare for the National Championship.”
It seems like the NCAA is choosing their battles wisely, they didn’t want a little detail as practice time to take over the talk of the championship game so they figured it out quickly.