The NCAA is considering college basketball start dates ranging from Nov. 10 to Dec. 4 -- all well before the Pac-12 says its teams can play games -- according to a CBS Sports report.
According to a document to college conference commissioners that was obtained by CBS, NCAA senior VP for basketball Dan Gavitt is exploring start dates of Nov. 10 (the originally planned opening day), Nov. 20, Nov. 25 and Dec. 4, with full practices allowed to begin at the usual 42-day mark before a team's first game.
The Pac-12 postponed all sports competition until at least January, a decision that will likely cause grumbling among its basketball coaches if the other conferences start playing beforehand.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle told the Star earlier this month that he hoped the Pac-12 would reconsider backing up if the rest of college basketball arranged games that could be played safely before the New Year.
“As coaches and administrators, as conference offices, from a basketball perspective you need to listen to Dan Gavitt,” Boyle said. “Dan Gavitt is smart. He gets the big picture and he can be the leader that college basketball needs to hopefully help navigate us through this. But it’s not gonna work if we don’t listen to Dan Gavitt, if we don’t consult him before we make major decisions.”
Arizona AD Dave Heeke said earlier this month that “we’re pretty convinced that we’re moving towards January” even for basketball although he left the door open slightly.
“I’m not a person that would not consider it,” Heeke said. “Could something change that allows us to consider it? I don’t see that, but if there is an abundance of evidence and our medical advisory group was entertaining that, we could have that conversation. But I don’t see us working on that immediately.”
The NCAA basketball oversight committees for men's and women's basketball are scheduled to meet on Aug. 31, CBS said. Gavitt has said he's been aiming for a mid-September announcement on whether the season will start on time or be delayed.
