NCAA Releases Statement on Upcoming Basketball Season

A decision will hopefully be coming in mid-September

NCAA Senior Vice President Dan Gavitt released a statement today on the upcoming basketball 2020-2021 basketball season:

As we prepare for the 2020-21 college basketball season, we have exercised patience and discipline in monitoring the effects of COVID-19 and making decisions regarding the season. We have learned a great deal over the course of the summer, and with health and safety being our priority, we have developed and studied contingency plans for alternatives to the scheduled Nov. 10 start date.

In the coming weeks, the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees will take the lead with me in a collaborative process of finalizing any recommendations for consideration by the NCAA Division I Council for the start of the college basketball season. By mid-September, we will provide direction about whether the season and practice start on time or a short-term delay is necessitated by the ongoing pandemic.

We recognize that we are living and operating in an uncertain time, and it is likely that mid-September will be just the first milestone for many important decisions pertaining to the regular season and the NCAA basketball championships. While circumstances may warrant flexibility resulting in a different and perhaps imperfect season, the ultimate goal is to safely provide student-athletes and teams with a great college basketball experience.

As mentioned above college basketball is scheduled to return in mid November, but according to the release the committee is discussing options moving forward. This could include pushing the start date forward, or keeping the date the same. The decision will be made in mid September. 

While this release makes it seem like basketball is in the same boat as football, in which most conferences postponed or cancelled there have been some developments since those decisions were made. On Sunday it was announced that there was a new saliva testing system for COVID-19 testing which received FDA approval. According to reports, it is 90% accurate and much cheaper than the current testing, $10 versus over $100. With mass testing, and contact tracing set up, it could be more feasible to have sports safely put on. 

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