NCAA Not Working on Contingency Plans to Expand Tournament

NCAA Senior Vice President Dan Gavitt said the NCAA is currently not considering expanding the field.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The ACC coaches' plan to have an all-exclusive NCAA Tournament in 2021 has been shut down 24 hours after it was proposed.

On Thursday morning, NCAA Senior Vice President Dan Gavitt said the NCAA is currently not considering expanding the field.

“Every college basketball team’s goal is to play in the NCAA tournament because everyone loves March Madness. Certainly we missed it this year and can’t wait for 2021. While all who care about the game are entitled to their opinions, and we’ll always listen respectfully, at this time we are not working on any contingency plan that involves expanding the tournament field.”

Statement from @NCAA SVP Dan Gavitt on the @accmbb proposal for an all eligible Division I 2021 @marchmadness: pic.twitter.com/rUQ1jHuYcB

— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) September 10, 2020

This was a quick response from the NCAA, who didn't want to let this possibility linger for too long.

Currently, college basketball is aiming for a Nov. 25 start date. The NCAA Division I council is expected to vote on a proposal next week regarding that start date.

The original start to the season was supposed to be Nov. 10. 

On Aug. 18, Gavitt released a statement regarding the NCAA's intentions to come up with contingency plans for the season around mid-September. You can see the full release below:

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.

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