On March 12, the tournament, as well as all other NCAA championships for the remainder of the academic year, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, just five days before it was set to begin. It was the first time the tournament had been cancelled since its creation in 1939.
The timing of the tournament coincided with the wider spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. On March 10, the Ivy League announced it had cancelled the conference's tournament, and would award its championship and automatic qualification to Yale based on regular season records. Harvard University was scheduled to host the event at Lavietes Pavilion in Boston on March 14 and 15.[1] Some conferences subsequently announced they would go on with their tournaments while holding their games behind closed doors with no outside spectators and limited attendance, especially on March 11 (when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic).[2]
The NCAA subsequently announced it would go on with its winter-sport championships, including its basketball tournaments, with attendance limited to essential staff and family members. Some venues (such as those in Ohio and California) enacted further local numerical restrictions on the numbers of those who could attend an event, which the NCAA agreed to respect.[3] Reports also stated that for practicality reasons, the NCAA was considering re-locating some of the later rounds (including the regional finals and the Final Four, the latter scheduled to be held at the 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium) to smaller venues within the same host cities.[4]
On March 11, hours after the WHO's pandemic declaration, the NBAsuspended its regular season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with COVID-19.[5] On the same night, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg fell visibly ill during a game in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. There were initial fears that Hoiberg had COVID-19, but he was ultimately diagnosed with influenza A. The following day, due in part to Gobert's diagnosis and Hoiberg’s health scare,[6] all conferences that had not yet concluded tournament play announced they would be scrapping their tournaments. Many of them had announced they would play without fans, but it was decided to scrap play altogether. With the decision to cancel the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, all games that had yet to be played in the basketball season were cancelled, while the Big East called off its tournament at halftime during a quarter-final game between Creighton and St. John's. Most major conferences also announced suspensions of all athletics to varying degrees.[7][5] Later in the day, the NCAA announced the tournament would be cancelled, along with all remaining winter and spring championships for the academic year.[8]
The NCAA had not ruled out publishing what would have been its at-large selections and bracket.[9] Vice president of men's basketball Dan Gavitt told the Associated Press that he had proposed holding a shortened, 16-team tournament in Atlanta (split between State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium) as an alternative, with all participants chosen by the selection committee, before the decision was made to cancel the entire tournament due to Rudy Gobert's diagnosis.[10] The NCAA ultimately decided against releasing any brackets, with Gavitt stating, "Brackets based on hypotheticals can’t substitute for a complete selection, seeding and bracketing process."[11]
As part of a cycle that began in 2016, TBS was scheduled to televise the 2020 Final Four and national championship game.[12]CBS was scheduled to televise the selection show.[13]CBS Sports and Turner Sports announced on March 16 that all technicians and utility staff who were expected to work the NCAA March Madness coverage would still be paid.[14] Radio rightsholder Westwood One announced plans to offer encores of radio broadcasts from classic NCAA tournament games—accompanied by interviews with notable figures from the respective games—to fill the time slots it had originally devoted to the tournament.[15] CBS similarly announced on March 19 that it would also air nine classic Final Four games across the weekend afternoons of March 21, 22, and 29.[16]
Originally scheduled dates, venues, and television coverageedit
Dayton
Tampa
Albany
Spokane
St. Louis
Sacramento
Cleveland
Greensboro
Omaha
class=notpageimage|
2020 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds (green)
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
New York City
Houston
Atlanta
class=notpageimage|
2020 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)
Prior to cancellation, fourteen venues had been scheduled to host games in the 2020 tournament:[17]
Television channels, studio hosts, studio analysts, and commentary teams
First Four – TruTV
First and Second Rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV
Regional semifinals and final (Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight) – CBS and TBS
National semifinals (Final Four) and championship – TBS
Studio hosts
Greg Gumbel (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Ernie Johnson (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Adam Zucker (Atlanta) – First Four, first round and Second Round
Adam Lefkoe - First round and Second Round (Game Breaks)
Studio analysts
Charles Barkley (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Seth Davis (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Brendan Haywood (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals
Clark Kellogg (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Candace Parker (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals
Kenny Smith (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Gene Steratore (New York City and Atlanta) (Rules Analyst) – First Four, first round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
Dwyane Wade (Atlanta) – Final Four and National Championship Game
Twelve teams had automatically qualified for the 2020 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.
All conference tournaments that had not been completed were cancelled, the majority without naming an automatic qualifier. Teams with † next to their names were named automatic qualifiers by their conferences after their tournament was cancelled.
^"Ivy League cancels conference basketball tournaments because of coronavirus". ESPN.com. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
^Schad, Tom (March 11, 2020). "NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns". USA Today. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^Tom Schad (March 11, 2020). "NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns". USA Today. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
^Terranova, Justin (March 11, 2020). "March Madness 2020 could change Final Four venue amid coronavirus crisis". New York Post. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^ ab"The Day Sports Shut Down". Wall Street Journal. March 12, 2020. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^"'It was like a movie': What led the NCAA to shut down competition". ESPN. March 17, 2020.
^"Power 5 leagues cancel conference tournaments; ACC, Pac-12 halt all athletics". ESPN.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^"NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
^"NCAA weighing release of 68-team bracket despite cancellation of 2020 NCAA Tournament over coronavirus". CBSSports.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
^"AP Exclusive: Inside NCAA's attempt to save March Madness". Associated Press News. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
^"NCAA's Gavitt: Basketball championship brackets will not be released for 2020". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
^"CBS Sports and Turner Sports announce 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship commentator teams". NCAA. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
^Gleeson, Scott. "CBS will stick with popular brackets-first format for NCAA tournament Selection Sunday show". USA Today. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
^Digital, Brandon Costa, Director of (March 16, 2020). "CBS Sports, Turner Sports Will Pay All March Madness Techs and Utilities, Including Freelancers". Sports Video Group. Retrieved March 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Westwood One will air classic NCAA Tournament games in its normal tournament windows". Awful Announcing. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
^Joyce, Greg (March 20, 2020). "CBS giving fans March Madness fix of classic games". New York Post. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
^"Future Division I Men's Basketball Championship sites". NCAA. April 21, 2017.
^"Siena to Host NCAA basketball tournament Next Three Years". Siena College. April 21, 2017.
^"America East championship, NCAA Tournament canceled amid COVID‐19 concerns". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^Fuller, Jim (March 10, 2020). "Ivy League tournament canceled, Yale men receive automatic NCAA bid". NHRegister.com. New Haven Register. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
^Boone, Kyle (March 12, 2020). "2020 ACC Tournament canceled amid coronavirus pandemic concerns". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
^"2020 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^"MAC Tournament Press Conference: March 12, 2020". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^"WAC Official Statement". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
^"SEC cancels remainder of Men's Basketball Tournament". SECSports.com.
November 01, 2023
2020, ncaa, division, basketball, tournament, planned, single, elimination, tournament, teams, determine, national, collegiate, athletic, association, ncaa, division, college, basketball, national, champion, 2019, season, 82nd, edition, tournament, would, have. The 2020 NCAA Division I men s basketball tournament was a planned single elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA Division I men s college basketball national champion for the 2019 20 season The 82nd edition of the tournament would have begun on March 17 2020 and concluded with the championship game on April 6 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta Georgia 2020 NCAA Division Imen s basketball tournamentSeason2019 20Teams68 planned Finals siteMercedes Benz StadiumAtlanta GeorgiaCancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemicNCAA Division I men s tournaments 2019 2021 On March 12 the tournament as well as all other NCAA championships for the remainder of the academic year were cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States just five days before it was set to begin It was the first time the tournament had been cancelled since its creation in 1939 Contents 1 COVID 19 impact and cancellation 2 Originally scheduled dates venues and television coverage 3 Automatic qualifiers 4 See also 5 ReferencesCOVID 19 impact and cancellation editSee also Impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on sports The timing of the tournament coincided with the wider spread of the COVID 19 pandemic in the United States On March 10 the Ivy League announced it had cancelled the conference s tournament and would award its championship and automatic qualification to Yale based on regular season records Harvard University was scheduled to host the event at Lavietes Pavilion in Boston on March 14 and 15 1 Some conferences subsequently announced they would go on with their tournaments while holding their games behind closed doors with no outside spectators and limited attendance especially on March 11 when the World Health Organization declared COVID 19 a pandemic 2 The NCAA subsequently announced it would go on with its winter sport championships including its basketball tournaments with attendance limited to essential staff and family members Some venues such as those in Ohio and California enacted further local numerical restrictions on the numbers of those who could attend an event which the NCAA agreed to respect 3 Reports also stated that for practicality reasons the NCAA was considering re locating some of the later rounds including the regional finals and the Final Four the latter scheduled to be held at the 71 000 seat Mercedes Benz Stadium to smaller venues within the same host cities 4 On March 11 hours after the WHO s pandemic declaration the NBA suspended its regular season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with COVID 19 5 On the same night Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg fell visibly ill during a game in the first round of the Big Ten tournament There were initial fears that Hoiberg had COVID 19 but he was ultimately diagnosed with influenza A The following day due in part to Gobert s diagnosis and Hoiberg s health scare 6 all conferences that had not yet concluded tournament play announced they would be scrapping their tournaments Many of them had announced they would play without fans but it was decided to scrap play altogether With the decision to cancel the 2020 Mid Eastern Athletic Conference tournament all games that had yet to be played in the basketball season were cancelled while the Big East called off its tournament at halftime during a quarter final game between Creighton and St John s Most major conferences also announced suspensions of all athletics to varying degrees 7 5 Later in the day the NCAA announced the tournament would be cancelled along with all remaining winter and spring championships for the academic year 8 The NCAA had not ruled out publishing what would have been its at large selections and bracket 9 Vice president of men s basketball Dan Gavitt told the Associated Press that he had proposed holding a shortened 16 team tournament in Atlanta split between State Farm Arena and Mercedes Benz Stadium as an alternative with all participants chosen by the selection committee before the decision was made to cancel the entire tournament due to Rudy Gobert s diagnosis 10 The NCAA ultimately decided against releasing any brackets with Gavitt stating Brackets based on hypotheticals can t substitute for a complete selection seeding and bracketing process 11 As part of a cycle that began in 2016 TBS was scheduled to televise the 2020 Final Four and national championship game 12 CBS was scheduled to televise the selection show 13 CBS Sports and Turner Sports announced on March 16 that all technicians and utility staff who were expected to work the NCAA March Madness coverage would still be paid 14 Radio rightsholder Westwood One announced plans to offer encores of radio broadcasts from classic NCAA tournament games accompanied by interviews with notable figures from the respective games to fill the time slots it had originally devoted to the tournament 15 CBS similarly announced on March 19 that it would also air nine classic Final Four games across the weekend afternoons of March 21 22 and 29 16 Originally scheduled dates venues and television coverage edit nbsp nbsp Dayton nbsp Tampa nbsp Albany nbsp Spokane nbsp St Louis nbsp Sacramento nbsp Cleveland nbsp Greensboro nbsp Omahaclass notpageimage 2020 First Four orange and first and second rounds green nbsp nbsp Indianapolis nbsp Los Angeles nbsp New York City nbsp Houston nbsp Atlantaclass notpageimage 2020 Regionals blue and Final Four red Prior to cancellation fourteen venues had been scheduled to host games in the 2020 tournament 17 First Four March 17 and 18 University of Dayton Arena Dayton Ohio Host University of Dayton First and Second Rounds March 19 and 21 Times Union Center Albany New York Host Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Siena College 18 Spokane Arena Spokane Washington Host University of Idaho Enterprise Center St Louis Missouri Host Missouri Valley Conference Amalie Arena Tampa Florida Host University of South Florida March 20 and 22 Greensboro Coliseum Complex Greensboro North Carolina Host Atlantic Coast Conference CHI Health Center Omaha Omaha Nebraska Host Creighton University Golden 1 Center Sacramento California Host Sacramento State University Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland Ohio Host Mid American Conference Cleveland State University Regional semifinals and finals Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight March 26 and 28 Midwest Regional Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis Indiana Host Horizon League IUPUI West Regional Staples Center Los Angeles California Host Pepperdine University March 27 and 29 South Regional Toyota Center Houston Texas Host University of Houston East Regional Madison Square Garden New York New York Host St John s University Big East Conference National semifinals and championship Final Four and championship April 4 and 6 Mercedes Benz Stadium Atlanta Georgia Host Georgia Institute of Technology Television channels studio hosts studio analysts and commentary teamsFirst Four TruTV First and Second Rounds CBS TBS TNT and TruTV Regional semifinals and final Sweet Sixteen amp Elite Eight CBS and TBS National semifinals Final Four and championship TBSStudio hostsGreg Gumbel New York City and Atlanta First round second round Regionals Final Four and National Championship Game Ernie Johnson New York City and Atlanta First round second round Regional Semi Finals Final Four and National Championship Game Adam Zucker Atlanta First Four first round and Second Round Adam Lefkoe First round and Second Round Game Breaks Studio analystsCharles Barkley New York City and Atlanta First round second round Regionals Final Four and National Championship Game Seth Davis Atlanta First Four first round second round Regional Semi Finals Final Four and National Championship Game Brendan Haywood Atlanta First Four first round second round and Regional Semi Finals Clark Kellogg New York City and Atlanta First round second round Regionals Final Four and National Championship Game Candace Parker Atlanta First Four first round second round and Regional Semi Finals Kenny Smith New York City and Atlanta First round second round Regionals Final Four and National Championship Game Gene Steratore New York City and Atlanta Rules Analyst First Four first round second round Regionals Final Four and National Championship Game Dwyane Wade Atlanta Final Four and National Championship GameCommentary teamsJim Nantz Bill Raftery Grant Hill Tracy Wolfson Final Four and National Championship at Atlanta Georgia Brian Anderson Chris Webber Allie LaForce Ian Eagle Jim Spanarkel Jamie Erdahl Kevin Harlan Reggie Miller Dan Bonner Dana Jacobson Brad Nessler Jim Jackson Steve Lavin First Four only Evan Washburn First Four at Dayton Ohio Tuesday Spero Dedes Steve Smith Wally Szczerbiak Lisa Byington Andrew Catalon Steve Lappas Steve Lavin First Four only Lauren Shehadi or Lisa Byington First Four at Dayton Ohio Wednesday Carter Blackburn Debbie Antonelli John SchriffenAutomatic qualifiers editTwelve teams had automatically qualified for the 2020 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference s tournament All conference tournaments that had not been completed were cancelled the majority without naming an automatic qualifier Teams with next to their names were named automatic qualifiers by their conferences after their tournament was cancelled Conference Team Record Appearance Last bidTournament completedASUN Liberty 30 4 5th 2019Big South Winthrop 24 10 11th 2017Colonial Hofstra 26 8 5th 2001Horizon Northern Kentucky 23 9 3rd 2019Missouri Valley Bradley 23 11 10th 2019Mountain West Utah State 26 8 22nd 2019NEC Robert Morris 20 14 9th 2015Ohio Valley Belmont 26 7 9th 2019Patriot League Boston University 21 13 8th 2011Southern East Tennessee State 30 4 11th 2017Summit League North Dakota State 25 8 5th 2019WCC Gonzaga 31 2 23rd 2019Cancelled during final roundAmerica East Vermont 19 26 7 8th 2019Cancelled during semifinalsIvy League Yale 20 23 7 6th 2019SWAC No automatic bid awardedCancelled during quarterfinalsACC Florida State 21 26 5 18th 2019Big 12 No automatic bid awardedBig East No automatic bid awardedBig Sky No automatic bid awardedBig Ten No automatic bid awardedBig West No automatic bid awardedC USA No automatic bid awardedMAAC Siena 22 20 10 7th 2010MAC Akron 23 24 7 5th 2013MEAC No automatic bid awardedPac 12 No automatic bid awardedSouthland No automatic bid awardedSun Belt No automatic bid awardedWAC New Mexico State 24 25 6 23rd 2019Cancelled during an earlier roundAmerican No automatic bid awardedAtlantic 10 No automatic bid awardedSEC Kentucky 25 25 6 60th 2019See also editImpact of the COVID 19 pandemic on sports 2004 05 NHL lockout 1994 World Series 2020 NCAA Division I women s basketball tournament 2020 NCAA Division II men s basketball tournament 2020 NCAA Division III men s basketball tournament 2020 NAIA Division I men s basketball tournament 2020 National Invitation TournamentReferences edit Ivy League cancels conference basketball tournaments because of coronavirus ESPN com March 10 2020 Retrieved March 27 2020 Schad Tom March 11 2020 NCAA men s and women s basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns USA Today Retrieved March 11 2020 Tom Schad March 11 2020 NCAA men s and women s basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns USA Today Retrieved March 11 2020 Terranova Justin March 11 2020 March Madness 2020 could change Final Four venue amid coronavirus crisis New York Post Retrieved March 12 2020 a b The Day Sports Shut Down Wall Street Journal March 12 2020 ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved March 28 2020 It was like a movie What led the NCAA to shut down competition ESPN March 17 2020 Power 5 leagues cancel conference tournaments ACC Pac 12 halt all athletics ESPN com March 12 2020 Retrieved March 28 2020 NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships NCAA org March 12 2020 Retrieved March 28 2020 NCAA weighing release of 68 team bracket despite cancellation of 2020 NCAA Tournament over coronavirus CBSSports com March 13 2020 Retrieved March 13 2020 AP Exclusive Inside NCAA s attempt to save March Madness Associated Press News March 13 2020 Retrieved March 13 2020 NCAA s Gavitt Basketball championship brackets will not be released for 2020 www ncaa com Retrieved March 21 2020 CBS Sports and Turner Sports announce 2020 NCAA Division I Men s Basketball Championship commentator teams NCAA March 10 2020 Retrieved March 10 2020 Gleeson Scott CBS will stick with popular brackets first format for NCAA tournament Selection Sunday show USA Today Retrieved March 5 2020 Digital Brandon Costa Director of March 16 2020 CBS Sports Turner Sports Will Pay All March Madness Techs and Utilities Including Freelancers Sports Video Group Retrieved March 17 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Westwood One will air classic NCAA Tournament games in its normal tournament windows Awful Announcing March 18 2020 Retrieved March 18 2020 Joyce Greg March 20 2020 CBS giving fans March Madness fix of classic games New York Post Retrieved March 20 2020 Future Division I Men s Basketball Championship sites NCAA April 21 2017 Siena to Host NCAA basketball tournament Next Three Years Siena College April 21 2017 America East championship NCAA Tournament canceled amid COVID 19 concerns Retrieved March 12 2020 Fuller Jim March 10 2020 Ivy League tournament canceled Yale men receive automatic NCAA bid NHRegister com New Haven Register Retrieved March 13 2020 Boone Kyle March 12 2020 2020 ACC Tournament canceled amid coronavirus pandemic concerns CBS Sports Retrieved March 13 2020 2020 MAAC Men s Basketball Championship Retrieved March 12 2020 MAC Tournament Press Conference March 12 2020 Retrieved March 12 2020 WAC Official Statement Retrieved March 12 2020 SEC cancels remainder of Men s Basketball Tournament SECSports com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2020 NCAA Division I men 27s basketball tournament amp oldid 1181433629, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
