While the start date of the 2020-21 college basketball season remains uncertain, ACC men’s coaches voted Wednesday to propose an all-inclusive NCAA Tournament in 2021.
If every team was invited to the tournament, the difficulty of playing a nonconference schedule, followed by a conference season, would be mitigated in the midst of a pandemic.
— Chris Mack (@CoachChrisMack) September 9, 2020
Louisville coach Chris Mack tweeted that a tournament including every Division I school would “incentivize the regular season without mandating a select number of nonconference and conference games.”
The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled earlier this year at the outset of the covid-19 outbreak.
A men’s tournament with all schools participating would require a similar women’s event, plus the necessity of breaking revenue cuts into additional, smaller pieces.
— Jeff Capel (@jeffcapel) September 9, 2020
Pitt coach Jeff Capel tweeted that he is joining the ACC coaches’ united stance on the proposal. ESPN reported that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is behind the idea of a 346-team tournament. Coaches have been meeting regularly for 21 weeks, Mack said.
Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has released a statement. pic.twitter.com/E6sSl3hvMV
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 9, 2020
“An NCAA Tournament with full participation will be a tremendous opportunity for all players and coaches,” Capel wrote, “as well as a terrific celebration of the game for our fans.”
NCAA President Mark Emmert has said he wants to hold a 68-team tournament, starting in March. But he added that playing the tournament in a bubble with fewer teams is a possibility, too.
“Starting with 64 teams is tough. Thirty-two, OK, maybe that’s a manageable number. Sixteen, certainly manageable. But you’ve got to figure out those logistics,” Emmert said last month in an interview on the NCAA’s website. “There’s doubtlessly ways to make that work.”
