NCAA Sets Basketball Start Date, Extends Recruiting Dead Period
The D1 Council was busy today passing a series of regulations and rules for regarding college sports. These rules all come as a reaction to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, and impact multiple sports.
The first change made was that the committee moved the start of college basketball from November 10th to November 25th. They cited that this was done because a majority of schools would be done classes at that time and would either be off campus or all online, creating almost a bubble on campus. The season itself was reduced by four games, and the number of games will be determined by whether a team enters a multiple team event or tournament.
Basketball teams can begin practice on October 14, and have up to 20 hours of practice a week. Like football the committee recommended a slow build up to full practice to help teams acclimate and get ready for the rigors of full practice.
The recruiting dead period was also moved from October to January 1st. This new date is going to be tough for recruits as anyone trying to make a decision by the early deadline who hasn't visited a school, will not be able to do so. This pause on live recruiting has been extended multiple times and was implemented at the beginning of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The final decision the committee made today was to move all fall championships into the spring. The sports that this will impact are men’s cross country, women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s water polo. Boston College men's soccer has already cancelled their season. These tournaments will be filled by 75% of their normal capacity.
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