Basketball start date

[VU75]

NCAA Division 1 council voted to start basketball season  Nov. 25.  Practices can start Oct 14.

[VUBBFan]

Looks like the Valley is going to at least play a full conference slate of games. NCAA season not starting until Nov. 25 means we are losing several non-conference games. However, I still hope the Vandy game doesn't get cancelled and we get to play them (just for spite on my part).

https://twitter.com/TheAndyKatz/status/1307037924165332992

[VUGrad1314]

A lot of opportunities lost. Indiana State and Evansville lost games at Purdue for instance.

[VU75]

Terra Haute newspaper intervieview with Elgin



Elgin confident MVC, college basketball can navigate through the COVID-19 landscape
By Todd Aaron Golden Tribune-Star 11 hrs ago 


Special to the Tribune-Star

   
Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin, and every other college commissioner in the land, has had to shepherd their schools through a landscape no one could have envisioned in the wildest nightmares over the last six months.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck at the absolute worst time for college athletics. The severity of the pandemic occurred just before the start of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in March — the tournament, and the media rights money it secures, is the very lifeblood for the NCAA, its conferences and its schools.

"It's been somewhat devastating financially because of the cancellation of March Madness," Elgin said. "It's caused a lot of student-athletes, coaches, and programs to not understand with certainty whether they were playing in the fall or start on-time with winter sports."

It's hard to envision much more of a worst-case scenario — unless it happens again in March 2021.

The powers-that-be are committed, and prepared, to make sure that scenario doesn't play out again. If it did? It could be akin to an extinction-level event for college athletics as we know it and a financial disaster for Missouri Valley Conference schools that are being squeezed on several fronts by the continuing pandemic.

Elgin joined sports editor Todd Golden for the Down In The Valley podcast and these are some of the topics that were discussed. The interview can be heard in its entirety on Tribstar.com and various podcast streaming platforms.

GOING FORWARD

Elgin spoke to Tribune-Star one day after the NCAA Division I Council created a framework for the men's and women's basketball seasons. The start date for the season will be Nov. 25, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

This cuts two weeks out of the season as was originally planned, which was to start on Nov. 10, but as of now, there are no plans to alter conference schedules. Nonconference games will take place until most conferences begin play at the end of December, including the MVC, which Elgin said will start its conference schedule in its normal slot on the calendar.

"There were a number of start dates that were considered. From Nov. 10 all the way to Dec. 4 were considered.

With a stable date comes challenges. Every Division I school lost the first few games from their schedule. While the NCAA dropped the required amount of games needed to be played to be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, there are still hurdles to clear. One is that some mid-major teams lost their "buy" games at high-profile opponents. Indiana State is one of those schools as their Nov. 13 date at Purdue was canceled. Of course, every school has the same problem, so the last-minute effort to schedule affects everyone.

"It does create a little bit of consternation for everyone to reschedule any games that were on that timeframe. It makes it a little bit difficult, but it might also create some opportunities for Missouri Valley Conference institutions to get games against high-major teams. We're hoping that's the by-product of this," Elgin said.

Elgin said eight schools have multi-team exempt tournaments that could be threatened by the date change as many take place the weekend before Thanksgiving. ISU was one of those schools, but the Gulf Coast Showcase at Florida Gulf Coast will now start on Nov. 25 instead of Nov. 23, so the Sycamores will open the season in Florida.

"We'll do what we can as a league staff to help teams reschedule [if a conflict comes up]," said Elgin on any scheduling conflicts. "We're looking forward to doing what we can to start the season safely and to move on into our traditional window for conference games on Dec. 30."

COVID-19 TESTING

One of the problems college athletics have had in trying to cope with COVID-19 is the prohibitive cost of testing. As the state of testing currently stands, it takes time and a lot of money to administer and receive test results. The cost of the tests, and the amount of them required, made it a prohibitive expense for schools in the MVC and beyond.

"Early projections for what testing would have cost had we launched two or three months ago would have been really prohibitive. For those institutions that play football? It would have been well into six-figures," Elgin noted.

What college administrators are banking on are quick-turnaround, far cheaper tests that change the game both in terms of the ability to get a quick diagnosis and hold down costs. Elgin was asked what the difference in cost would be.

"The early projections were somewhere between $90 to $100 per test. Some of the early reports on new testing may cut that down to $20 per test. Much more affordable, quicker and reliable. Some of the new tests are like pregnancy tests you can take at home," Elgin said.

"We'll see that evolve in the next two weeks to a month. We believe we'll be able to find affordable test that have been on the marketplace. We're hoping we can move along with this to have a safe way to launch the basketball season and other winter sports," Elgin added.

Of course, tests won't just be reserved for athletes. Once thing all sports bodies have contended with is the competition to get access to tests in the first place.

"It's a confusing array of test protocols and test agencies. The NCAA is trying to help member institutions find available tests. We're going to see when these tests, if they come out and they're quick, they're efficient and less expensive? The American population will be competing to have those tests," Elgin said.

Even with tests that are cheaper and can better contain the virus through near-instant diagnosis, the risk is not eliminated. Long-term problems, such as myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, are also unknown factors at this point.

"The general discussion is that we really don't know the long-term impact of what the virus might be. The myocarditis was brought forward first. We didn't know about it until six weeks ago when the NCAA informed member conferences of that. That's a long-term concern. I'm not qualified to speculate much on that,," Elgin said.

BUBBLES

Sports at the professional level has resumed partly via isolation bubbles. The NBA has successfully executed the concept at DisneyWorld in Florida. The NHL has also done so at two sites in Canada. Major League Baseball plans to do the same with its playoffs at four sites in Texas and California.

Those sports all have media contracts that can help defray costs, but in the unequal economic world of college athletics, where revenue streams are vastly inconsistent? The bubble concept isn't as simple.

Yet Elgin said that preliminary discussion have taken place about the possibility of bubbles if they were deemed necessary. And not just nonconference games at a neutral site either. It is possible MVC conference games could take place in a bubble format in an emergency as well.

Elgin was asked what form a Missouri Valley Conference bubble might take.

"One contingency plan? Let's say we went two weeks without any games because of the virus. We would pre-determine sites that could handle a lot of games in a few amount of days. Let's say we had a site on the eastern and western side," said Elgin, who illustrated another scenario. "We could have a six-team bubble at one site where each of those six teams would play five games in 10 days. The beauty of the academic hybrid model is that you'd have players who could still attend class. These are all just concepts at that point."

Bubbles would require isolation of athletes in hotels, regimentation of meals, etc. A costly undertaking. Has the conversion about potential bubbles for MVC play been discussed at the presidential level?

"Logistically? It would be difficult. You'd need markets and sites with multiple arenas to play. You'd have to play virtually all day, starting mid-afternoon," Elgin said. "We haven't had a full discussion of it [with the institutions]. We don't know enough yet about contingencies that would put bubbles in play."

NCAA TOURNAMENT

With the financial importance of the NCAA Tournament being starkly demonstrated by what happened to the college athletic landscape in its absence in 2020? It's fair to say that the NCAA and its member schools are going to pull out the stops to ensure the tournament is a full go in some form this March.

There have been various proposals floated as to what form the NCAA Tournament might take. The Atlantic Coast Conference coaches suggested an all-comers tournament with all of the Division I membership invited. Others have suggested an expanded field more along the lines of 96 teams. On Sept. 10, NCAA Senior Vice President Dan Gavitt muted these proposals.

"At this time, we are not working on any contingency plan that involves expanding the tournament," Gavitt said in a media statement.

Elgin agrees that the NCAA Tournament should remain as it is, a 68-team field.

"I'm in favor of the 68-team bracket. I think it's worked well. I don't see any need for change. I think the recommendation that we go to all teams getting in? I understood why that was put forward, it would take pressure off of everyone to try and get games and play as many as they can against tough competition," Elgin said. "I don't see any reason, unless there's an emergency, to alter the way in which the tournament is conducted with the number of teams that are in it."

Whatever form the NCAA Tournament takes, Elgin knows how important it is to have it and to have the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in March. The MVC was one of the fortunate few conferences that was able to complete its conference tournament before the COVID-19 shutdown began.

"What we all understand is we have to do what we can to safely navigate the regular season. Conference tournaments are important to us, it's a big event for us, not only financially, but competitively on the men's and women's side. The cancellation of March Madness last year was a huge financial loss for the NCAA and the member institutions. We're confident we can navigate and conduct a regular season and postseason. We're doing everything we can to move forward with it," Elgin said.

[justducky]

Wow! I read all that twice and I am more confused now than before I started.  . Maybe there will be some hidden opportunities or pleasant surprises that accompany this logistical nightmare?

[VALPO LI]

This would be a perfect time for a new Union St. Hoops episode to catch us all up on this madness. Patiently waiting for almost 80 days to hear your voice again

[Pgmado]

This would be a perfect time for a new Union St. Hoops episode to catch us all up on this madness. Patiently waiting for almost 80 days to hear your voice again

Asked and answered.