NCAA Basketball Oversight Committee Recommends November 25 Start Date

Vote for approval to be held in coming weeks by Division I Council.

With college football officially kicking off this Labor Day weekend, college basketball is now zoning in on an official start date to the upcoming season. With four original options, the NCAA oversight committee agreed this past Tuesday to propose a November 25 start date for the 2020-21 college basketball season.

The proposal, which recommends beginning the season the day before Thanksgiving , will be sent to the Division I Council for approval. The council will vote at its tentatively schedule meeting on September 16. Although plans to move forward with a late November start would commence with the affirmative council votes, sources indicate to CBS Sports the continued need for flexibility during the unprecedented and fluid times.

In other words, a setback with the Covid-19 pandemic would quite possibly delay any college basketball plans to be approved in mid-September.

In addition to the official start date, hot topics of conversation during Tuesday’s call included allowable practice and workout hours before the preseason begins, and game maximums and minimums for the 2020-2021 season.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the season, and the real possibility of conferences making their own separate decisions (like we have seen with football), overall contest allowances have been difficult to gauge.

NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt has already indicated the selection committee would amend a rule for 2020-2021 as it relates to automatic bids. However each conference chooses to determine their champion, the committee will accept them as an automatic bid - no matter what capacity determined it (tournament, regular season, etc.)

Each week is bringing more clarity to a college basketball season (which has been in question for months), but the NCAA continues to make it clear these plans are certainly subject to change in the current climate.

If all does go according to plan, it looks like we will be seeing Buckeye basketball take the floor by Thanksgiving dinner. 

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