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ue to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced Monday that it is in “preliminary talks” to host the entirety of the March Madness tournament in Indianapolis in 2021.
The NCAA organisers have discussed ways of holding the 68-team tournament, with the safest route looking likely to play the entire tournament in Indianapolis due to the difficulty of moving around because of the Coronavirus.
The NCAA released a statement on Monday: “In recent weeks, the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has engaged in a thorough contingency planning process to determine the most effective way to conduct a safe and healthy March Madness for all participants for the 2021 championship.”
“Through these discussions, it became apparent to the committee that conducting the championship at 13 preliminary round sites spread throughout the country would be very difficult to execute in the current pandemic environment.
“The committee has decided the championship should be held in a single geographic area to enhance the safety and well-being of the event.
“As a result, NCAA staff are in preliminary talks with the State of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis to potentially host the 68-team tournament around the metropolitan area during the coordinated dates in March and April,” the statement said.
University of Kentucky athletics director and Division I Men’s Basketball Committee chair, Mitch Barnhart, said: “My committee colleagues and I did not come lightly to the difficult decision to relocate the preliminary rounds of the 2021 tournament, as we understand the disappointment 13 communities will feel to miss out on being part of March Madness next year.”
NCAA senior vice president of basketball, Dan Gavitt, said it is a priority to make sure the tournament has a solid plan that keeps everyone involved safe.
“We have learned so much from monitoring other successful sporting events in the last several months, and it became clear it’s not feasible to manage this complex championship in so many different states with the challenges presented by the pandemic,” Gavitt said.
“However, we are developing a solid plan to present a safe, responsible and fantastic March Madness tournament unlike any other we’ve experienced,” he said.