The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball season kicks off November 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
The Division I Council voted Wednesday to move the start date back from the originally scheduled 10 November as one of several precautions against the spread of the coronavirus.
The later start date coincides with the decision by most schools to send students home from Thanksgiving to January due to concerns about a possible COVID-19 outbreak in late fall and early winter. Closed campuses can serve as a bubble and window for non-conference gaming for players.
CLICK HERE TO GET MORE SPORTS LIGHTING AT FOXNEWS.COM
“As our campuses are cleaned up, there will be even more impact control, and the 25th gives us that opportunity,” said Division I Board Chair Grace Calhoun, director of sports at the University of Pennsylvania.
The men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees jointly recommended the start date of the competition – Saturday 21 November. Calhoun said the council wanted to avoid a weekend start date due to potential duplication of basketball and football games on campuses.
The maximum number of regular season games has been reduced from 31 to 27.
“The reason was that teams tend to play an average of two games per week during the season, so the fact that we are shortening the season by two weeks has necessitated a reduction in the number of games so that we don’t be counterproductive and try to use more. shortened season, ”Calhoun said.
The minimum number of games to participate in the NCAA tournament has been cut from 25 to 13. Calhoun said this low minimum is confirmation that schools are likely to face varying levels of COVID-19 cases and will need to change schedules.
“We fully expect that there will be some problems as the season progresses, very similar to what we saw in football, so we want schools to have the flexibility to design seasons,” she said.
Teams can start pre-season training on October 14th. Starting Monday, teams will be allowed to compete in strength and fitness competitions, as well as athletic meetings and skill training for up to 12 hours per week with an eight-hour skill training limit.
No fights with other teams or exhibitions are allowed. It was also recommended that each team play a minimum of four games without a conference.
The council is scheduled to meet again on October 13-14 and may postpone the start date and change other elements of the basketball structure if virus-related circumstances warrant.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The council also voted to extend the deadline for hiring for all sports to January 1. Personal dialing during this period is prohibited, although telephone calls and other correspondence are permitted.
A law on civic engagement was also passed. Practice, competition and other countable sporting events will be banned on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each year, including this year’s Election Day, November 3.
The Division I Athletes and Students Advisory Committee has proposed by law to create a day each year to empower athletes to participate in activities such as voting or community service.
