The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Ackerman: ‘Staggered starts’ possible for Big East schools
UConn will officially return to the Big East Conference on July 1. That much is certain.
What is far less certain is when UConn — along with other Big East programs, and the NCAA overall — will be able to resume athletics. No one has the answer to that now, but Big East commissioner Val Ackerman addressed some related questions in a Zoom call with reporters on Friday afternoon.
Ackerman noted that Big East presidents are currently in a wait-and-see mode as to when campuses can be re-opened. Those decisions are likely to be made in late June or early July.
“If campuses aren’t open, we will not have athletes coming back, or sports events or activities resuming (at those schools),” Ackerman said.
However, she added there is a strong likelihood of staggered starting dates for member schools to begin practices and even competition in fall sports. The Big East has schools in 10 different states, ranging in geography from Rhode Island and Connecticut to Indiana and Nebraska. So, different schools may be ready to re-open earlier than others.
“If one school is up and running, let’s let those athletes get the benefit of that,” she said. “Based on discussions we’ve had with our athletic directors, their mindset would be, ‘Let’s look at the welfare of the student-athletes first here. If their campuses are safe and they’re lucky enough to get back into the welcoming embrace of their coaches and administrators, then let’s not hold them back if the others are not quite there yet.’”
The Big East sponsors six fall sports: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball and field hockey. UConn (FBS), along with FCS programs Villanova,
Georgetown and Butler also have football programs, though those aren’t under the conference’s umbrella. Still, any type of delayed start to the NCAA football season will likely have a domino effect on the start of winter sports like men’s and women’s basketball, particularly in regards to television.
Ackerman believes decisions will have to be made on winter sports by around Labor Day, so that schools can deal with travel, nonconference schedules, venues and other issues that will affect the season.
Ackerman also noted the very real possibility of
sports — either in the fall, winter, or both — being played with no spectators. If, for instance, a school’s men’s basketball season was truncated, plenty of questions would arise regarding NET rankings and qualifications for the NCAA tournament, based on smaller sample sizes. Moving the NCAA tournament to a later date could be on the table at some point, as well.
Of course, those decisions are still several months in the distance. For now, fall sports are the priority. With states like Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York being hit much harder than Nebraska (where Creighton is located), there exists the possibility that some programs may not be able to return at all this fall. NCAA bylaws mandate that leagues must have a minimum of six teams to run a conference season; the Big East has 11 schools.
“That’s an issue we haven’t confronted yet,” Ackerman noted.
But it will certainly be something the Big East deals with moving forward in these unprecedented times.
“We’re all still trying to absorb events that are sweeping our world, our country and, of course, the sports industry,” Ackerman said. “This conference has been through a great deal in its first 41 years, and yet I don’t think that even Dave Gavitt, the great visionary that he was, could have predicted the turn of events that we’re all grappling with right now.”
She added that she is reminded of a quote from Gavitt, the Big East’s founder, that is etched into the wall of the league’s main conference room of its midtown Manhattan offices: “The march of the Big East goes on.”
HELLO, HUSKIES
Ackerman said that staff members and coaches from UConn have already been integrated in meetings and planning with the league, and that she is happy for the charter member’s return.
“We expect nothing less than great competition from this proud school when we welcome them back into the Big East fold,” Ackerman said.