KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NABC Ad Hoc Committee on Basketball Issues on Friday outlined additional recommendations for the 2020-21 Division I college basketball season related to scheduling and quarantine protocols.
Regarding scheduling, the Committee recommended that teams that do not compete in a multi-team event (MTE) due either to COVID-19-related event cancelation or local, state or campus COVID-19 restrictions be permitted to play 27 regular-season games. Current scheduling guidelines permit teams that compete in a MTE to compete in up to 27 regular-season games, while teams that do not compete in a MTE are limited to 25 contests.
Many Division I programs are unable to participate in MTEs this season due either to cancellation of the event or restrictive local, state or campus COVID-19 policies. Teams that experience these barriers to MTE participation, the Committee felt, should not be precluded from competing in the same number of regular-season games – 27 – as their Division I counterparts.
On the subject of contact tracing and quarantine protocols, the Committee has recommended a thorough review of how daily COVID-19 testing capabilities could potentially impact NCAA resocialization of college basketball guidelines. The NCAA guidelines currently suggest a 14-day quarantine for all “Tier 1” individuals if any Tier 1 positive test appears. Multiple Division I conferences are in the process of activating daily testing across their member campuses, and the NCAA’s COVID-19 Advisory Panel has indicated optimism that testing access will improve prior to the start of the season.
The NABC Ad Hoc Committee on Basketball Issues is comprised of: Tommy Amaker, Harvard; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse; Tad Boyle, Colorado; John Calipari, Kentucky; Jamie Dixon, TCU; Mark Few, Gonzaga; Tom Izzo, Michigan State; Mike Krzyzewski, Duke; Tubby Smith, High Point; John Thompson III; Roy Williams, North Carolina; and Jay Wright, Villanova.
