Ackerman: Big East most often in ‘reactive’ mode
An exorbitant amount of planning, as one would expect, has gone into navigating the college basketball season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations between Big East presidents, athletic directors, coaches, and perhaps most importantly, doctors, are continuing on a consistent basis.
And yet, says Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, “we find ourselves to be in more often than not a reactive mode because of positive tests that lead to quarantines, and then the adjustments that we then have to make with the games.”
So far, as Ackerman explained in a Hearst Connecticut Media podcast last week, the Big East’s model has mostly worked. The conference’s men’s programs have completed about 80 percent of their scheduled games to date, according to Ackerman. On the women’s side, it’s closer to 60 percent, with four schools (Villanova, Creighton, Providence, St. John’s) having played as many as eight games and two others seven.
“It has been not without difficultly, but we’re making it work,”
Ackerman said. “We do feel like we can keep doing this, more or less, in a safe matter as it relates to, for example, travel, as it relates to the in-arena protocols that our schools have adopted.”
Some schools, for whatever reason, have been more fortunate than others. The Georgetown women, for example, have had eight games postponed or canceled because of COVID-19 issues, and have played only once so far. Seton Hall is currently shut down for a second time due to positive test results, and on Monday St. John’s announced it is
also pausing team activities.
In the event the Big East’s current travel model is unsustainable, contingency plans are in place, including possible bubbles in Uncasville, Washington D.C., Chicago and Indianapolis.
“Those are the four lead candidates if we decide to pivot because of the setup,” Ackerman said, adding, “It would not be an NBA or pro-league-style hermetically sealed environment. It would be something less than that, but it would be potentially more controlled than what we have.”
Ackerman said the Big East should know within the next month whether they need to go that route.
ESPINOZA-HUNTER IMMEDIATELY ELIGIBLE
Turns out, Andra Espinoza-Hunter may play this season after all. Seton Hall announced last week that the former Husky has been granted a legislative relief wavier by the NCAA, and instead of becoming eligible next year, is able to play immediately.
Espinoza-Hunter, if you’ll recall, had originally opted out of the 2020-21 season due to concerns over the coronavirus while with Mississippi State. The 5-foot-11 guard had made 20 starts over the previous two years with the Bulldogs, averaging 6.7 points. Then last month, Espinoza-Hunter transferred to Seton Hall, her third school in three years.
She’s slated to play her former team — UConn, that is — on Feb. 12 at Gampel Pavilion.
WATCHFUL EYES
Perhaps it’s the Big East effect. Or Paige Bueckers. Or maybe it’s just the restrictions associated with COVID-19.
Whatever the reason, UConn has been drawing a near-record TV audience early in 2020-21. So far, the Huskies are averaging a 5.50 household rating on SNY in the Hartford-New Haven DMA, matching the secondbest performance ever on the network through five games.