NCAA postpones basketball season openers until Thanksgiving Eve to take advantage of empty campuses as colleges extend holidays to prevent an early-winter coronavirus flareup
The NCAA men's and women's basketball season will begin November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, after the Division I Council voted Wednesday to delay the original November 10 start as one of several precautions amid the pandemic.
The later start date coincides with the decision most schools made to send students home from Thanksgiving until January out of concern about a potential late-fall and early-winter flareup of COVID-19. Closed campuses could serve as a quasi bubble for players and provide a window for non-conference games.
'The fact our campuses will be clearing out, it will be possible to just further control the exposures, and the 25th gives us that opportunity,' said Division I Council chair Grace Calhoun, the athletic director at Penn.
The NCAA men's and women's basketball season will begin November 25, the day before Thanksgiving, after the Division I Council voted Wednesday to delay the original November 10 start as one of several precautions amid the pandemic. Pittsburgh Panthers guard Amber Brown (5) drives on Notre Dame Fighting Irish center Mikayla Vaughn (30) during the ACC Women's Tournament game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Greensboro Coliseum on March 4. Dayton Flyers star Obi Toppin dunks
Students move back into the dorm for fall semester amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan on August 19
The men's and women's basketball oversight committees had jointly recommended a start date of November 21, a Saturday. Calhoun said the council wanted to avoid a weekend start date because of potential overlaps of basketball and football games on campuses.
The maximum number of regular-season games has been reduced from 31 to 27.
'The rationale was that during the season teams tend to play an average of two games a week, so the fact we're shortening the season by two weeks necessitated the reduction in games so we're not being counterproductive and trying to jam more in a shortened season,' Calhoun said.
The minimum number of games for consideration for the NCAA Tournament was cut from 25 to 13. Calhoun said the low minimum is an acknowledgement that schools probably will experience different levels of COVID-19 cases and have to alter schedules.
Anna Makurat of the UConn Huskies during the American Athletic Conference women's basketball championship at Mohegan Sun Arena on March 9
'We fully anticipate there are going to be some issues as we go through the season, much like we've seen in football, so we want there to be flexibility for institutions to put together seasons,' she said.
Teams can start preseason practices October 14. Beginning Monday, teams will be allowed to participate in strength and conditioning and sport-related meetings and skill instruction for up to 12 hours a week, with an eight-hour limit on skill instruction.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and his son, Orange guard Buddy, during a February game
No scrimmages against other teams or exhibitions are allowed. It also was recommended each team play a minimum of four non-conference games.
The council is scheduled to meet again October 13-14 and could delay the start date and change other pieces of the basketball framework if circumstances surrounding the virus warrant.
The council also voted to extend the recruiting dead period for all sports until Jan. 1. In-person recruiting is prohibited during a dead period, though phone calls and other correspondence are allowed.
Also approved was civic engagement legislation. Practicing, competing and other countable athletically related activities will be prohibited on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November each year, including this year's Election Day on November 3.
The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee proposed the legislation to provide a day each year dedicated to increasing opportunities for athletes to participate in activities such as voting or community service.
North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Markell Johnson (11) drives the net past Duke Blue Devils center Vernon Carey Jr. (1) during an NCAA Men's basketball game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Duke Blue Devils on February 19, 2020 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh