With hundreds of games canceled, postponed and in some cases forfeited in the New Year, the NCAA issued the following statement about the schedule shifts.
“As we typically do, the men’s and women’s basketball committees will track on player and coach availability via the conference monitoring program, which is an invaluable part of the evaluation process for both championships. Losses are still losses, and wins are still wins, but we will continue taking into consideration the absence of a coach or players, whether they are COVID-related or due to injury or suspension. We therefore encourage teams to honor conference-developed scheduling and rescheduling policies when the appropriate number of safe and healthy players and coaches are available to compete. Additionally, our committees will continue to monitor the impact of scheduling disruptions and consider championship eligibility requirements as necessary when the committees meet at the NCAA Convention in two weeks.”
– Tom Burnett, Division I Men’s Basketball Committee Chair and Southland Conference commissioner
– Nina King, Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Chair and Duke athletics director
Most conferences have made statements revising their COVID-19 scheduling policies in order to avoid forfeits and other factors that could impact teams’ eligibility for the NCAA Tournament. Today marks the first time this season that the NCAA has addressed the issue.