It’s been almost two weeks since the University of Virginia men’s lacrosse team found out that it wouldn’t get a chance to defend its national championship. Two weeks that have provided little clarity.

On Friday, March 13 — one day after the Virginia players found out the NCAA canceled all 2020 spring championships — the NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee advised that eligibility relief (giving players an extra year) was appropriate. But no one knows if that will actually happen or how it will be implemented.

Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany held a recent Zoom conference with the team’s Sabre Committee, a leadership group of the captains and representatives from each class.

“There were more questions than answers after the hour conversation,” Tiffany said. “The men are still in the shocked phase.”

It’s been a surreal two weeks in Charlottesville. When college conferences like the Ivy League and pro sports leagues like the NBA began shutting down operations, the Virginia players knew it was only a matter of time before their season would at least be halted.

On March 12, two days before its scheduled game against Maryland, the Virginia players sat together expecting to get that news.

“We got together at 1 p.m. for a scouting report,” Tiffany said.  “I said maybe said 15 words. I said, ‘Let’s get out there before they shut us down,’ and our guys erupted. It was the most intense intra-squad scrimmage of the year. It was so much fun.

“At around 2 p.m., it was halftime, and I looked over at the trainer to see if we were shut down, and she shook her head no. Then we ended around 3 p.m., and I looked over at her again and she shook her head no again.

“I started getting a little nervous, thinking this is no way to prepare for Maryland. We’ve got people bleeding. Petey LaSalla is limping off the field.”

Moments later, as they walked into the weight room for a post-practice lift, assistant coach Sean Kirwan broke the news that the NCAA had canceled its spring championships.

Tiffany was grateful that the team was together when it found out the news. And together again the next day, when assistant coach Kip Turner shared the news of reports that the NCAA would grant an additional year of eligibility.

But now, no one knows what that means. Will it actually happen? What happens to the scholarship picture? Will expected job offers still stand given the country’s economic situation? What about a player like All-American midfielder Dox Aitken, who had announced he was going to play football at Villanova this fall after graduating from Virginia? 

Tiffany said most of his players are in a wait-and-see mode.

“It’s a bit paralyzing as a staff to create our future plans,” Tiffany said.

And these are unchartered waters.

“There’s still a sense we should be doing more, but I’m not sure what more looks like,” Tiffany said. “The reality is, we don’t have a game for 11 months. There’s not a real need to include intense physical training. This might be an opportune time to de-load, take some pressure off their bodies.”

And there were some positive takeaways from the video conference with his team’s leaders.

“We have some ideas moving forward as to what we’re doing as a program,” Tiffany said. “We’re going to have positional conference calls, and as a staff, we’ll be providing each individual player with an evaluation. We’ll probably go more in-depth than usual because we have the extra time.”

“As we move out of shock, I think we’ll have much more productive calls. I’m looking forward to that.”