Over the weekend, the NCAA awarded the Vanderbilt baseball team a trip to the College World Series finals after declaring its game against NC State a no-contest due to Wolfpack players testing positive for COVID-19.

On Saturday, June 26, the NCAA released the following statement on its decision:

nc state“The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee has declared the Vanderbilt-NC State Men’s College World Series game scheduled for Saturday, June 26 at 1 p.m. Central time a no-contest because of COVID-19 protocols. This decision was made based on the recommendation of the Championship Medical Team and the Douglas County Health Department. As a result, Vanderbilt will advance to the CWS Finals. The NCAA and the committee regret that NC State’s student-athletes and coaching staff will not be able to continue in the championship in which they earned the right to participate.  Because of privacy issues, we cannot provide further details.”

A recent article on D1Baseball.com pieced together a comprehensive timeline of the NC State COVID-19 events. You can read it here.

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In total, eight members from NC State’s program tested positive for COVID-19, some of whom were reportedly vaccinated, and with others under contact tracing protocols, the NCAA thought it would be an impossibility for the Wolfpack to finish the tournament.

NC State finished the season with a record of 37-19 and knocked off top-ranked Arkansas in the NCAA Super Regionals, and sixth-ranked Stanford in the College World Series. They were amid a 1-1 series tie with Vanderbilt with the rubber match deciding which team would play in the CWS Finals. 

Once news began to spread of the NCAA dismissing NC State from the tournament, people began expressing their displeasure with the NCAA.