• Loading stock data...
Monday, December 9, 2024
Tune in on Dec. 11 at 1:05 p.m. ET for our last Future of Sports virtual summit of the year – Future of Sports: Marketing! Register Now

College Basketball Tips Off as Pandemic Peaks

  • The hastily thrown-together schedules for the 2020-21 season crumble teams nationwide postpone season-openers due to positive COVID-19 tests.
  • Multiple virus-induced factors, from logistical issues to high rates of community spread, could make this season a nightmare.
college basketball season struggles
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA is tipping off college basketball in the midst of the nation’s most severe COVID-19 outbreak. And already, the virus is infiltrating teams across the country: Positive tests from teams like UConn women and Baylor men have caused teams to pull out of non-conference tournaments and cancel season-openers. 

College basketball, itself a high-risk COVID-19 transmitter, could face even more concerns than similarly distraught FBS football this season with regards to logistics, finances, and community spread. 

“We’re kind of playing into the teeth of this virus,” Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey recently told reporters.

The NCAA is likely pushing so hard for a season because it needs to hold a men’s NCAA tournament this year in order to survive financially. Without 2020 men’s March Madness, the governing body distributed $375 million less to its Division I programs than it planned — and that’s money that non-Power 5 programs, specifically those considered basketball schools, rely on. 

“We all know that the NCAA needs to do it for the money,” Clemson men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell recently told reporters.

So if enough men’s teams can assemble a season of at least 13 games, they’ll likely head to Indianapolis this March, where the NCAA plans to move the entire men’s tournament from its myriad geographical locations. And while there’s no official word on the women’s tournament, Pac-12 Senior Associate Commissioner Teresa Gould told Front Office Sports that she believes the governing body might be considering a similar setup for women’s March Madness.

As teams try to navigate community spread, their sport itself can be its own spreader. 

While there isn’t strong data either way, one can reasonably assume that basketball can spread the virus more easily than football, Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins who served on the NCAA’s COVID-19 task force, told Front Office Sports. Panting players heavily breathe each others’ air for prolonged periods inside indoor arenas with no masks, helmets or shields to protect them.

If a basketball player tests positive, all of their close contacts as defined by the CDC, which often includes other basketball players, are strongly encouraged to quarantine for 14 days, according to NCAA guidelines. 

bubbleville

College Basketball’s ‘Bubbleville’ is Bellwether for Season to Come

If Bubbleville can’t keep COVID-19 at bay, it’s unclear whether any model…
November 19, 2020

This poses a dire logistical issue, and is perhaps why so many teams have canceled games in the past week after one positive test: Basketball teams are smaller than football teams, so even a few isolated contacts could cause a team to be unable to play for weeks and lose four or five games, NC State men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts told reporters.

“There’s no way we’re going to be able to play with this 14-day quarantine,” Seton Hall women’s basketball coach Tony Bozella told reporters in late October. 

Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman previously said “attempts” are underway to develop a protocol for athletes to test out of quarantine, and the CDC may shorten its quarantine guidelines to seven to 10 days, according to a Wall Street Journal report. But the day before the report published, Adalja cautioned that there just isn’t sufficient research yet to suggest how many days after exposure anyone could test out of quarantine. 

“We don’t know how to deploy it best,” he said.

The concerning timing of the season also looms large as the U.S. suffers its third major COVID-19 wave while millions travel for the holiday season. Already, non-conference tournaments planned to provide safer environments for players than their usual locations, but some find themselves in hotspots The Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic, for example, is the reinvented “Battle 4 Atlantis” tournament moved to South Dakota that has found itself in a state experiencing some of the nation’s highest positivity rates.

And while some states like South Dakota leave planning games up to tournament organizers and teams, others have imposed strict local guidelines programs must navigate. New Mexico, for example, has such strict guidelines that New Mexico State football shut down for the fall, believing it would be impossible to play. The University of New Mexico football team moved to Las Vegas for the season. And later, New Mexico State men’s basketball headed up to Phoenix.

ncaa-basketball-to-start-nov-25

NCAA to Relocate Men’s March Madness to Single Location

The governing body is in “preliminary talks” with Indiana and Indianapolis to…
November 16, 2020

There’s no end in sight to severely curb the spread with a vaccine before March Madness is set to tip off. While some vulnerable groups might have access to a vaccine in March and April, the general population won’t see a vaccine until “well into 2021,” Adalja said.

Meanwhile, events like a multi-tournament semi-bubble called Bubbleville have attempted to create bubble-like environments so teams can play as many games as possible even in high-risk areas. Bubbleville, for example, requires PCR tests to enter the event, and plans to test players with PCR tests daily despite their being in an isolated environment at Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville, Conn.

But without a bubble, there’s no guarantee the virus won’t infiltrate a team on campus or when traveling, as has been the case with FBS football. Many college basketball teams can’t get to their bubbles in the first place without having a personnel member test positive: Creighton’s men’s team pulled out of the Crossover Classic after positive tests, for example, and Florida’s men’s team pulled out of Bubbleville for the same reason. And if these teams and others couldn’t get into a bubble, the bubble’s safety precautions are useless.

A disparity in resources around conferences and teams further complicates the season for many, Gould said. Just look at Power 5 conferences: The Pac-12 and Big Ten could afford costly testing partnerships to test athletes daily. The SEC is using the same contact tracing technology as the NFL. 

Meanwhile, the Big East hasn’t announced a conference-wide testing partnership, and the Mountain West and MAC are merely providing three or four tests a week. Events like bubbles are complicated and expensive, Bubbleville organizers told Front Office Sports — though they’re not as expensive as traveling to locations for one-off games and having to split costs of safety precautions with just one other team. 

Among all these factors, the patchwork 2020-21 college basketball season tips off Nov. 25 to attempt to save a financially ailing NCAA and member schools, and give players a chance to play even if they get sick. Pitt men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel recently told reporters: “It’s unlike anything anyone has been through.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Nov 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Detailed view of a Wilson NBA basketball held by a referee during the second half between the Utah Jazz against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena

‘Obvious Weak Point’: Refs Remain an NBA Gambling Concern

A season after Jontay Porter, the biggest risk may not be players.

Big Ten Tops SEC With Four College Football Playoff Bids

The SEC ended up with three CFP teams after Alabama was left out.

One Year After Pac-12 Dissolved, Two Former Members Will Reach CFP

Arizona State and Oregon won the Big 12 and Big Ten championships.
Nov 2, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines cheerleader runs with a flag before the game against the Oregon Ducks at Michigan Stadium.
opinion

College Football’s Billionaire Backer Era Begins

Is this the new normal in CFB recruiting?

Featured Today

LA Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljic (9) celebrates with midfielder Riqui Puig (10) after scoring a goal against Seattle Sounders FC in the second half in the 2024 MLS Cup Western Conference Final match at Dignity Health Sports Park

With or Without Messi, Major League Soccer Is Barreling Into the Future

After the Cup final, the league looks to accelerate its growth.
Dec 18, 2022; Lusail, Qatar; FIFA president Gianni Infantino claps during the awards ceremony after the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium.
December 2, 2024

FIFA Wants More Matches. Resistance Is Growing Inside the Global Soccer World

Resentment and frustration over expanded schedules is nearing a breaking point.
November 30, 2024

U.S. Investors Are Gunning for England’s Small Soccer Clubs

Is another Hollywood-like success story possible among the U.K.’s smallest clubs?
Nov 1, 2024; Boise, Idaho, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) leads the team onto the field prior to the first quarter against the San Diego State Aztecs at Albertsons Stadium.
November 29, 2024

Schools Are Scrambling to Prepare for the NCAA Revenue-Sharing Era

In the post–House v. NCAA world, “everyone’s kind of on their own.”

ESPN, ABC To Simulcast First Non-NBC Notre Dame Home Game Since 1990

The Fighting Irish will play the first game of the College Football Playoff.
December 8, 2024

SMU Awarded Final College Football Playoff Spot, Booting Alabama

The Mustangs qualified despite losing the ACC championship game.
December 8, 2024

TNT Will Broadcast Clemson-Texas, SMU–Penn St. CFP Games

The network will broadcast Clemson at Texas and SMU at Penn State.
Sponsored

How UBS Crafts Impactful Partnerships Across Sports, Arts, and Culture

As UBS continues to expand its impressive array of sports and entertainment partnerships, the company solidifies its position as a leader in wealth management.
December 8, 2024

Boise State First, Only Group of 5 Team in Expanded College Football..

We very much consider ourselves the Power 4,” Boise State’s AD said.
December 7, 2024

Championship Paydays: Coaches Cash In on Conference Title Wins

Kirby Smart earns bonuses for Georgia’s SEC title win, securing a CFP bye.
December 6, 2024

Unrivaled Gives Flau’jae Johnson Equity in Second College Deal

The LSU star and rapper joins Paige Bueckers as NIL signings.
December 5, 2024

‘This Is a Big Deal’: SEC Defends Championship Amid CFP Debate

Neither Texas nor Georgia appears at risk of missing the Playoff.