The organisation has also cancelled modifications made to its eligibility and scholarship regulations, meaning athletes will not be left financially unstable beacuse of the decision.

"U SPORTS has been working hard with the four conferences, our 56 member institutions and medical experts to examine the feasibility of delivering the fall national championships this season," said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, the U SPORTS chief sport officer.

"Taking into account the academic realities of university sport, we arrived at a point where a tough decision had to be made."

The decision was made due to the continuing restrictions put on affiliated universities, as well as the consideration for health and safety.

Taryn Taylor, U SPORTS' chief medical officer, added: "Although the Canadian sport system is working together to create evidence-based return to training, practice and competition protocols, it is not currently feasible or safe due to the COVID-19 pandemic for U SPORTS to be able to offer autumn championships given the academic realities of student-sport.

"We continue to work with public health officials across the country to examine possibilities for return to play for the winter 2021 term."

Affected championships include women's field hockey, men's and women's cross-country running, men's and women's football, women's rugby and American football.

The hosts of the events will have the opportunity to stage them in future.

In Canada, there have been more than 96,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date, resulting in the deaths of more than 7,800 people.