UPDATE: College Basketball Oversight Committee to Recommend November 21 Start Date

On Wednesday of this week (September 16), the Division I Council will meet to finalize the start date of the 2020-21 men’s and women’s college basketball seasons.

Reports came out last week that the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees proposed date for beginning the season would be Wednesday, November 25 (the day before Thanksgiving).

Lost in the shuffle of the first full weekend of football, however, was the announcement that that proposal has now changed to Saturday, November 21. The oversight committees met again last Friday, and the earlier date was a direct result of that meeting. Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was the first to report the new plan.

There is a proposal to start the season on Saturday, Nov. 21, source told @Stadium. Also on the table is limiting maximum number of games to 24 (plus 3 in a multi-team event) or 25 (plus two in an MTE).
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 11, 2020

The prevailing thought is that shifting the start date four days earlier would accommodate several of the early-season multi-team events (MTEs) taking place at that time. The Maui Invitational, for example, is scheduled to take place November 23-25.

In the same tweet Goodman also reported that the proposal would include limits on the maximum and minimum numbers of regular season games. In a normal season, teams are allowed up to a maximum of 31 regular season games, but the proposal will suggest reducing that number to 28 for teams that play in an MTE and 26 for teams that do not. On the flip side, teams will have to play a minimum number of games in order to be eligible for postseason play. The aim for the minimum is 13 games played against Division I opponents.

CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander also reported the news. Both he and Goodman noted that the proposal will include a recommendation that teams play at least four non-conference games (if the conditions allow for such match-ups to take place under the guidelines laid out). The biggest reason for asking teams to do this is the cross-pollination it will create amongst conferences. This data is a huge aid in things like NCAA Tournament selection and metrics for rankings like KenPom.

Norlander’s piece also mentions the COVID-19 protocols, which will certainly have to be part of the conversation. The expected recommendation is testing three teams a week.

On Monday, Goodman tweeted some other items on the table for Wednesday’s vote:

- Saturday, October 10 as the proposed official start of practice

- No exhibition games or scrimmages (likely including the not-so-secret secret scrimmages)

Oct. 10th as official start of practice will also be voted on Wednesday, per source.

No exhibition games or scrimmages also proposed. https://t.co/YDcAdJLgbR
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 14, 2020

Other considerations for the November 21 start date include questions like: Is starting on a Saturday in the midst of college football season a wise choice in terms of eyeballs? Is this truly enough time to have plans and logistics in place to pull the season together?

The Division I Council will have the responsibility to answer these questions (and many more) as they deliberate about the wisest course of action for the upcoming season.

As Wednesday’s vote approaches, it’s important to keep in mind that this proposal is by no means a done deal. The Council could outright accept or reject the proposal as is, or even make revisions. Make sure to stay tuned over the next couple of days as the specifics of the plans for the 2020-21 college basketball season are made public.

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