For the past couple of days, Kansas basketball fans, along with fans of the college game in general, had held out hope that Selection Sunday might still be worth celebrating even with no NCAA Tournament to play beyond it.
The thinking was this: Even though the tournament will not be played because of growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, it still would be fun to see what the bracket would have looked like so fans, players and coaches alike could see where their teams would have been seeded and sent in the weeks ahead.
With a bracket to glance at, at least some of the joys of March would still be in play, with debates about matchups, which teams got in and which didn’t and even predictions for the 2020 Final Four and national champion all helping take people’s minds off the global health crisis.
Sunday afternoon, a few hours before the bracket would have been released, Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, explained why that would not happen.
Below is Gavitt’s statement in full:
> The world is experiencing a
> challenging health crisis with the
> coronavirus pandemic. It is an
> unsettling and concerning time in our
> history.
>
> For those of us who love and treasure
> college basketball, it has resulted in
> the cancellation of NCAA basketball
> championships and an empty month that
> otherwise would be filled with
> tremendous excitement. The
> disappointment and heartbreak we all
> feel for student-athletes unable to
> compete is significant, yet nothing is
> ever more important than the health
> and safety of student-athletes,
> coaches and fans.
>
> When NCAA winter and spring
> championships were cancelled Thursday
> afternoon, the women’s basketball
> committee had yet to even commence
> their selection meeting, and the men’s
> basketball committee had only just
> begun their selection process. There
> were 19 men’s and 18 women’s
> conference tournaments that had yet to
> be completed when the NCAA
> championships were cancelled. A total
> of 132 men’s games and 81 women’s
> games were never played, resulting in
> those automatic qualifiers not being
> determined on the court.
>
> The important work of the basketball
> committees is to set up competitively
> balanced brackets to determine
> national champions. I don’t believe
> it’s responsible or fair to do that
> with incomplete seasons – especially
> for tournaments that unfortunately
> won’t be played.
>
> Therefore there will not be any NCAA
> Division I men’s and women’s
> basketball championship selection
> shows or tournament brackets released
> this year.
>
> I have heard from many coaches and
> athletics directors who are trusted
> colleagues and friends that would like
> to see brackets released to recognize
> the successful seasons of their teams
> and student-athletes and to see who
> and where they would have played.
> Players and coaches want to see their
> school name on the bracket. Members of
> the media want to dissect matchups.
> Bracketologists want to compare the
> work of the committees versus what
> they’ve predicted. Fans are curious
> for those same reasons. All of us want
> something to fill the void we’re
> feeling.
>
> However, anything less than a credible
> process is inconsistent with the
> tradition of the NCAA basketball
> championships. Brackets based on
> hypotheticals can’t substitute for a
> complete selection, seeding and
> bracketing process. There will always
> ben an asterisk next to the 2020 NCAA
> men’s and women’s basketball
> championships regardless if the
> brackets are released.
>
> There is not an authentic way to
> produce tournament fields and brackets
> at this point without speculating and
> that isn’t fair to the teams that
> would be positively or negatively
> impacted by manufacturing March
> Madness.
>
> More importantly, in light of this
> global health crisis, I believe we
> need to keep college basketball in
> perspective.
>
> To be clear, this is my decision. The
> basketball committees support and
> concur.
>
> Basketball family, please stay safe
> and I pray for the health of you and
> your loved ones. We will get through
> this pandemic and disappointing month
> of March together.
