BYU to start NCAA championships early to avoid Sunday play

The BYU women's golf team has been allowed to get an early start in the NCAA championships this week because of the Mormon school's longstanding stance against participating in athletic events on Sundays.

NCAA spokeswoman Gail Dent said in an email that NCAA bylaws provide for accommodations to be made for schools that have a written policy against competition on a particular day because of religious reasons.

There have been several instances before with BYU athletics when it looked like there may be a Sunday conflict in NCAA tournaments, but the school lost before it was an issue.

Peter Fields, Montana State's athletic director and chairman of the NCAA women's golf committee, said there was some discussion about how to work with BYU and make it as fair as possible.

Course conditions play a role in any round of golf and that was also a topic in regards to fairness.

Thursday's forecast calls for a high of 56 degrees with occasional rain showers and Sunday's calls for a high of 60 degrees with showers throughout the day.