NCAA Division I Council agrees on Nov. 25 start date for basketball
Sep 16, 2020, 4:12 PM | Updated: Dec 5, 2024, 9:20 am
The NCAA Division I Council announced on Wednesday it has voted to begin the 2020-21 college basketball season on Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving,
The news was first reported by CBS Sports.
The decision comes just five days after the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees requested to start four days earlier on Nov. 21.
Non-conference scheduling will also be affected as a result of the Nov. 25 start date, as several tournaments, such as the Maui Invitational, were scheduled to begin on Nov. 23. There will be no exhibition games or closed scrimmages allowed prior to Nov. 25.
A few other items were decided upon in Wednesday’s discussion.
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No in-person visits will be permitted for recruiting purposes until Jan. 1 and the amount of countable athletically related activities was raised from eight hours a week to 12, which will go into effect Monday.
Per NCAA rules, full practices can commence 42 days prior to the start of the regular season, which means Oct. 14 is the first day college basketball’s preseason. However, no exhibitions or scrimmages will be allowed.
And although the Nov. 25 start date has been announced, the fluidity of the coronavirus pandemic could still push back the start of the college basketball season should things worsen.
The NCAA Division I Council is slated to meet in mid-October to once again address men’s and women’s basketball and vote on any possible amendments.
