NCAA football has started to make announcements on the 2020 season. The Ivy League kicked it off with an announcement that all fall sports would be canceled. The Big Ten just released that they were canceling all non-conference games for the upcoming season.
The NCAA vice president of basketball, Dan Gavitt, said that the football decisions are not affecting basketball timelines. While the Ivy League won’t start its basketball seasons until Jan. 1, he is still holding out hope for everyone to be able to start the regular season on Nov. 10.
Gavitt went on to say that if there was basketball being played safely somewhere, there would be a 2021 NCAA tournament. He said the committee is working on rules and regulations should there be postponements or forfeits.
While Gavitt said there would be flexibility for each conference, I just don’t see how they are going to pull this off. If I were to be on it, I would say that college basketball isn’t played this year, and if it is, it will start after Jan. 1.
The Basketball Tournament Has Early Upset
Time to toot my own horn as I said last week that I liked the chances for House of Paign to pull off the upset and take down Carmen’s Crew. The University of Illinois alumni team, featuring Mike Daum, knocked out the Ohio State alumni team that took home the title last year.
The alumni team from Marquette won easily over the Philadelphia-based team, Brotherly Love, on Friday to advance to the Final Four. For House of Paign, the run was over on Friday when it fell to the Red Scare, a team made up of former Dayton players.
The tournament has been a lot of fun to watch, but I’m still not a fan of the Elam Ending the tournament has used. There have been multiple people calling for it to be used in the college game. I just don’t think it is the answer and would rather not see the game messed with in such a big way.
Bolton Left Penn State Over Comments
Penn State had a great season and looked to be ready to make an NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2020-21 season doesn’t look to be off to such a good start.
Rasir Bolton left the team and said it was because coach Pat Chambers made inappropriate references to a noose, along with other insensitive comments. Bolton, who is now at Iowa State, said he reported the comment but didn’t feel support or regret from Chambers or the athletic department.
There isn’t expected to be any action taken against Chambers, and he will most likely remain on the bench for the upcoming season. No current players have indicated any issues with Chambers.
NCAA Looking Into Early Start of Season
Even though starting the season late seems to be the prevailing thought on the upcoming season, the NCAA has asked schools to look into starting two weeks early. They said this would create more flexibility and would help if there is a shutdown due to an outbreak in the winter.
While I think exploring all options is a great idea, the two weeks just doesn’t buy enough time. If there is an outbreak, two weeks isn’t going to cut it.
If they want to stop games between Thanksgiving and Christmas and plan on a temporary stoppage during that time, that might be an idea worth looking at. But, per usual, the NCAA doesn’t seem to really think most things all the way through.
