Ready for March Madness 2021? Not so fast...

There are already 68 teams in the tournament. If the goal is to crown the best team in the country there’s room for a wide margin of error. Just let them in like Ohio St in football. The heated arguments over last 4 in/first 4 out will be over before the end of the first weekend.

PS - I think they have it. Too much money at stake not to and every other sports league has conditioned the country to watching delayed games, short rosters and even replacement coaches (Browns head coach missed their game v the Steelers).

It will be cancelled.

I think they'll have it. Have heard from jump football will be paused, NBA will be cancelled. Heard last season (it barely counts was a disaster) that baseball would be shut down, basketball bubble won't happen or complete etc.

Last year there was no time for any kind of changes or planning.

Now will there be a forfeit or two? probably (and it will be a seed that doesn't stand a chance, not high one)

If they can create an NBA type bubble - they might be able to have a tournament.

They should drop the facade of student athletes - for a few weeks - and allow the games to be played in some sort of a bubble.

I don’t know about having fans attending games. The nearby Seton Hall home games still have no fans in the arena. In other parts of the country, the rules may be different.

I’d enjoy watching the tournament. It would be something to distract from the pandemic.

^^^ this is already set up. They are planning on playing the entire tournament in Indianapolis between 5 or 6 courts. No fans, players and staff will be in a “bubble” only staying in a few hotels in Indy.

The NBA did a nice job, but what’s scary is 64 or 68 teams versus what the NBA had? I’m guessing the NBA scenario involved less than 25% of the people the NCAA scenario will potentially have.

But March Madness has an advantage over the NBA bubble in that it’s single elimination. The number of teams and associated personnel staying in the bubble drops by half every two days. If they can get through the first weekend they’ll be in good shape.

It seems like a reasonable approach both Shailynn and JimmyMcNulty describe above.

Single elimination gets teams out quicker than the NBA format of best of 5/7 games (played in two locations).

They test the players a few days before they arrive, and then daily once they are in the bubble.

Since these guys aren’t pulling down NBA money yet - they shouldn’t be hitting strip clubs - or breaking curfew to hit a side piece. The only concern is - how will they keep up with their studies? Lololol....

It’s a welcome diversion anyway you slice it, not to hijack a thread I think these players deserve to get paid, the schools and many others are making a pile of money, it’s only fair that the players should get a piece of the pie.

I mostly agree with you on paying players. It’s not clear cut as some are there for the education while others like Zion or the KY starting 5 are clearly there because they have to wait a year before the pros or 3 in football. Clinging to the “but they are students” ignores reality and the school is getting more from them than they are being “paid” with a scholarship. For a lot of student athletes not in hoops or football, they are amateurs and the scholarships are plenty compensation. A fair compromise to me is the O’Bannon solution. Let the players make money off their likenesses. Sell autographs, video game rights, tv commercials. Sure, it may be unwieldy but the NCAA already polices a whole bunch of stuff.

It doesn't really make sense to me being as the culture is so commercialized anyway, but the rules regarding player compensation, at least it seems to me to be miserly at best, and as for selling stuff for compensation, that seems to penalize the student athletes they don't have the time or the know how to profit from their sport, and if I'm not mistaken according to the NCAA the hiring of an agent to represent a students interest disqualifies them from being an amateur. Seems to me that there is no one looking out for the well being and/or players interest.
But that's just my opinion, I'm sure others will disagree.

College athletes don't deserve to get paid and if they get paid, then their scholarship should be voided and they have to pay for school. Pros get paid, so get rid of college sports and lets see these scholar athletes LOLOLOLOLOL get into the pros without college ball. Poor athletes getting a free education and the chance to hit it big, instead of doing what their brains can do: working at 7/11 as a clerk.

^ I actually agree that their scholarship should count as part of their pay, but if just getting an education was the criteria, stop recruiting these kids and only allow them to play at colleges where they can meet the entrance requirements, bet most of the athletes playing at the major Ivies and Large conference colleges couldn't get past the admission requirements, plus realistically very few actually hit it big, as pro ballers my guess would be less than 10% of the players actually get a pro contract.
Just to counter your argument about the chance to hit it big, football and basketball need the college system as much as the system needs the NFL and the NBA, baseball not so much as they have their own farm system to recruit talent.

I am all for no scholarships, other than academic. Of course my alma mater had/has shitty sports......

The colleges have become dependent on the cash flow from a handful of sports. If they can no longer bank on that money - they might need to try and operate more efficiently.

I doubt that will happen. That means even higher tuition! Except for the community colleges - as those will be free soon! But, those schools probably have classes to teach students to say “Would you like to super size your meal?”