Feb 25, 2021

NCAA Announces COVID-19 Contingency Policies for March Madness

Posted Feb 25, 2021 7:00 PM

By Jackson Schneider

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA announced Thursday its plans for the 2021 Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in the event that selected teams are unable to compete due to COVID-19. 

The tournament fields will be announced on March 14th (men) and 15th (women) and replacement teams may be selected within the first 48 hours after the brackets are released, according to the NCAA.

This means that in the event that one of the teams experiences positive tests and is unable to compete in the championship tournament, one of the top teams remaining left out of the original draw can be added to the tournament field as a replacement. 

Furthermore, if a team(s) produces positive COVID-19 cases and is unable to compete once the tournament begins, no replacement will be put in its place, in accordance with the NCAA's no-contest rule. Any team that was able to play and their opponent is unable will move  on to the next round. 

Full details from the release, per NCAA:

  1. Once the bracket is finalized and released, teams will not be reseeded, nor will the bracket change.
  2. Reasonable efforts will be made to ensure a full field is in place before the start of the championship. No replacement teams will be introduced after the championship begins.
  3. Every participating conference should have the opportunity for a minimum of one team in the championship field.
  4. Beyond the goal of having at least one team from every conference, replacement teams must be among the best teams being considered for an at-large bid.

Click HERE to read the full release from the NCAA.