2020 NCAA Tournament

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

In light of recent event changes among DI and DIII, and I presume DII as well, do you think the Finals in Atlanta weekend will be affected?

I have the opportunity to go but...would hate to have to deal with airline cancellations etc...

Also - do we know the approximate cost for tickets for the Finals games for DIII?

D2 and D3 finals are free to the public.

Saweet!  Save me a few bucks anyway!

They play in the Hawks arena, so they aren't going to run out of seats.

[89Pirate]

In light of recent event changes among DI and DIII, and I presume DII as well, do you think the Finals in Atlanta weekend will be affected?

I have the opportunity to go but...would hate to have to deal with airline cancellations etc...

Also - do we know the approximate cost for tickets for the Finals games for DIII?

Not really worried about the number of seats, just worried that they may so no fans allowed - currently Mrs Pirate is on board with the trip idea so I am trying to get my ducks in a row before paying for anything.  Hotels rates are killing me right now though.

D2 and D3 finals are free to the public.

Saweet!  Save me a few bucks anyway!

They play in the Hawks arena, so they aren't going to run out of seats.

[Oline89]

At some point the athletes have a point. Why should they be the only ones on campus and traveling? Why are they guinea pigs? Is sport really that important? More important than in-person classes students have signed up for?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/politics/coronavirus-colleges.html

My post was meant to show that the attitude of college athletes expressed in jknezbek's post is not necessarily the attitude shared by all college athletes....

I agree with this 100%. If I paid for in person classes and got switched to online classes I'd be pretty mad. Let alone meal plans, room costs, parking fees, facility fees and everything else that SHOULD be refunded if campus isn't open or you aren't allowed to be there, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.

DIII athletes play for the love of the game. There is, literally, only costs involved. So if you are closing in person classes, as Amherst has done, what justification do you have for your athletes to stay and travel and play? Do players still want to play? Probably most of them. That's part of the love of the game. But that doesn't change the fact that the admin has decided campus is a risk, travel is a risk, but somehow traveling for sport and practicing on campus is not a risk. There is no logical justification for this. There is no way to put lipstick on that pig. You ARE treating athletes as lab rats, and that's not ok, even if they are willing to be those lab rats.

This is what drives me crazy. Especially at DIII where sport is simply an extra curricular activity. If campus is too risky for education, the whole point of being there, campus is too risky for extra curriculars... including sport.

Sport is "just an extra-articular activity"?  Playing NCAA basketball is not the same as joining the Ultimate frisbee club.  These athletes have busted their butts for years, spent endless hours in the gym/weightroom, and run countless miles in preparation to play for a championship.  I am not saying that COVID 19 is not a serious health concern, however, these athletes are not lab rats.  The CDC has not told the nation to quarantine, we are not currently in a police state.  Take precautions, wash your hands, don't shake hands with everyone you meet, if someone has a fever/respiratory issue/severe cough, then contact your physician and stay home.  Otherwise let's hold off on initiating panic, and calling athletes lab rats.

[Pat Coleman]

Extra curricular activity, rather than career path? If that's what jknezek was implying, I can get on board.

[jknezek]

At some point the athletes have a point. Why should they be the only ones on campus and traveling? Why are they guinea pigs? Is sport really that important? More important than in-person classes students have signed up for?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/politics/coronavirus-colleges.html

My post was meant to show that the attitude of college athletes expressed in jknezbek's post is not necessarily the attitude shared by all college athletes....

I agree with this 100%. If I paid for in person classes and got switched to online classes I'd be pretty mad. Let alone meal plans, room costs, parking fees, facility fees and everything else that SHOULD be refunded if campus isn't open or you aren't allowed to be there, but I wouldn't hold my breathe.

DIII athletes play for the love of the game. There is, literally, only costs involved. So if you are closing in person classes, as Amherst has done, what justification do you have for your athletes to stay and travel and play? Do players still want to play? Probably most of them. That's part of the love of the game. But that doesn't change the fact that the admin has decided campus is a risk, travel is a risk, but somehow traveling for sport and practicing on campus is not a risk. There is no logical justification for this. There is no way to put lipstick on that pig. You ARE treating athletes as lab rats, and that's not ok, even if they are willing to be those lab rats.

This is what drives me crazy. Especially at DIII where sport is simply an extra curricular activity. If campus is too risky for education, the whole point of being there, campus is too risky for extra curriculars... including sport.

Sport is "just an extra-articular activity"?  Playing NCAA basketball is not the same as joining the Ultimate frisbee club.  These athletes have busted their butts for years, spent endless hours in the gym/weightroom, and run countless miles in preparation to play for a championship.  I am not saying that COVID 19 is not a serious health concern, however, these athletes are not lab rats.  The CDC has not told the nation to quarantine, we are not currently in a police state.  Take precautions, wash your hands, don't shake hands with everyone you meet, if someone has a fever/respiratory issue/severe cough, then contact your physician and stay home.  Otherwise let's hold off on initiating panic, and calling athletes lab rats.

Yes, sports is "just an extra curricular activity" at the DIII level. The amount of effort put in doesn't change that designation. I put more effort and hours into our student paper as editor than I did in the year I played soccer, and about as much as part of club rugby as DIII soccer. And all 3 are "just an extra curricular activity". Your opinion may vary, but by definition, DIII sports are an extra curricular activity.

As for the rest, that's all lagging. By the time it happens, it will be too late. Such is the way the world works. As we've seen with the NESCAC and JHU, some places will be proactive, some will be reactive. But I think the proper logic works like this... if you are closing campus, you should close your sports. And we've seen this with Amherst, I suspect we will see it with other places. Any other choice makes no sense. If you are not closing your campus, then keeping extra curricular activities going is a different decision. But once you end the MAIN ACTIVITY on campus... classes... all subsidiary activities, by logic, need to be ended as well.

Again, your opinion may vary, but I think Amherst made the right choice in ending sports once they ended on campus classes. We will see what other schools do as they end on campus classes.

[Ithaca798891]

Old me would give Jknezek a K+ for that. I'll get back to 200 posts eventually.

[jknezek]

Extra curricular activity, rather than career path? If that's what jknezek was implying, I can get on board.

Man. Who would guess we would struggle with a definition like this? Extracurricular literally means "outside the curriculum." DIII sports are outside the curriculum of any college. You earn no credits toward a degree for doing it. Do you learn and grow and have all kinds of wonderful experiences from DIII sports? Absolutely. But it is an extracurricular activity.

I mean, we can go with Merriam-Webster if we want...

Definition of extracurricular
1: not falling within the scope of a regular curriculum
specifically : of or relating to officially or semiofficially approved and usually organized student activities (such as athletics) connected with school and usually carrying no academic credit
extracurricular sports

[jknezek]

Ohio bans mass gatherings including spectators at First Four in Dayton and first and second round NCAA games in Cleveland unless the NCAA moves them.

https://www.yardbarker.com/college_basketball/articles/fans_banned_from_march_madness_games_in_ohio_via_state_order_due_to_coronavirus/s1_127_31541621

[Oline89]

Extra curricular activity, rather than career path? If that's what jknezek was implying, I can get on board.

Man. Who would guess we would struggle with a definition like this? Extracurricular literally means "outside the curriculum." DIII sports are outside the curriculum of any college. You earn no credits toward a degree for doing it. Do you learn and grow and have all kinds of wonderful experiences from DIII sports? Absolutely. But it is an extracurricular activity.

I mean, we can go with Merriam-Webster if we want...

Definition of extracurricular
1: not falling within the scope of a regular curriculum
specifically : of or relating to officially or semiofficially approved and usually organized student activities (such as athletics) connected with school and usually carrying no academic credit
extracurricular sports

I have no problem with your definition of extra curricular activity. My problem is with your addition of the word "just"

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I wouldn't consider the best 10-15% of DIII student newspapers "just" an extracurricular any more than I would the top 10-15% of DIII athletic teams.  College students who do those things commit near if not actually professional levels of time and attention, likely as much or more than they give to their classwork.  This is one of those definitions you'd probably have to let the participants decide on.  I imagine many student athletes would come down on each side.

[Pat Coleman]

Ours wasn't even in that top echelon, by a longshot, but all four of the top editors went into the biz after graduation.

[Colby Hoops]

Seems there is at least some consideration to canceling the D1 tournament (which, would undoubtedly lead to the D3 tourney being canceled): https://twitter.com/Hassel_Chris/status/1237827196296757249?s=20

Still think fanless games are the most likely outcome, but we'll see.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

NCAA COVID-19 panel just recommended closing all NCAA events to spectators (with limited family attendance).

[Flying Dutch Fan]

NCAA COVID-19 panel just recommended closing all NCAA events to spectators (with limited family attendance).

And Mark Emmert just issued a statement that the NCAA will be following that recommendation for all championship events.

[VT-Alum-NOVA]

NCAA COVID-19 panel just recommended closing all NCAA events to spectators (with limited family attendance).

saw this, hence the communique from A10 conference on coordination between NCAA and A10.  I am assuming there is concern on A10 conference tournament continuing in Barclays Center since GMU vs St Joe's just finished.