NCAA to Decide College Basketball Start Time by Mid-September

Senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt says the NCAA will decide if college basketball is delayed by mid-September.

The NCAA has "developed and studied contingency plans for alternatives" to the originally scheduled start date for college basketball, according to senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt, who released a statement Monday afternoon.

"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," said Gavitt.

Last week the Big Ten postponed fall sports, including football, but didn't mention college basketball. Nor did they say what might happen with other winter sports.

However, according to Gavitt, it's possible the season gets delayed, something they hope to have decided at a later date.

"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," Dan Gavitt said.

Although he understands it's going to be a long process, especially with COVID-19 and they will experience more than a few issues before college basketball officially tips off.

"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," Gavitt said.

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