NCAA Could Produce Horse Tournament To Name March Madness Winner
Or many of us, sports are an essential part of our everyday lives, but we never really understood just how much they meant until we found ourselves left with nothing.
Every sport from youth leagues to the highest levels of professional sports, all gone just like that with nothing to fill the void and players at every level who had worked so hard, were left with nothing to show for their efforts.
In the state of Tennessee, the TSSAA girl's high school basketball state tournament was in full swing, with the final eight teams battling when sports shut down. It was that way in many other states as well, where teams were in the last days of their season chasing a championship that for some schools and communities might be a once in a lifetime shot.
Likewise, the final eight boy's teams tournament was set for the following week, but now they, along with the girl's squads, must sit and wait, hoping to get the chance to finish what they started.
March Madness, one of the most significant sporting events of the year, fell victim to COVID-19 as conference tournaments stopped before anyone could find their "One Shining Moment."
But what if the NBA has given us a unique but exciting answer to replacing March Madness and crowning a champion, be it under a different title?
Last week the NBA produced a horse tournament between some of the league's players as a way to provide people with something, anything, no matter how offbeat or unconventional it might be.
Why can't the NCAA do the same with college basketball?
Most of the teams that would have participated in the 68 team field were already set, with few exceptions, so why not put together the brackets, call each coach and have them select a representative to play in a game of "Champ" to determine a winner in 2020.
Yeah, I know, some will say the technological challenges would be tremendous, but the youth of today are very savvy. With Skype and other video sharing platforms, it would be possible to do in their driveways or their local high school gyms.
It seems simple enough for me. Set the field, get a player representative from each team, have them faceoff in a game of "Champ"- a name change seems appropriate for this- and work the field down from 68 to an eventual winner.
After all, it's not like the players couldn't make time in their busy schedules right now to be able to play a game. There would be no issues with travel, venues, or crowds to consider, just a student-athlete, his basketball, an empty gym, and his smartphone or other electronic devices, and away they go.
If nothing else, it would give the kids, their teammates, and fans something to cheer for and the rest of us something new to entertain us.
What's in it for the NCAA? Sponsorship dollars, and I'm sure they would find a way to get major corporations to sponsor it in some way.
I'm all good with that as long as the boys in Indy cut me in on the financial side since it is my idea.
