CIAC moving forward with plans for a winter season

The CIAC continues to move forward with its plans to conduct a winter sports season. All of the sports committees have had meetings in the last week to determine how exactly to go about it.

“Our intention is to play every sport this winter season,” said Gregg Simon, the CIAC’s associate executive director. “That doesn’t mean the situation won’t change due to rising (COVID) numbers. We don’t dictate. The disease will dictate.”

Both the boys and girls basketball committees, among others, came up with plans to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus for review by the CSMS Sports Medical Advisory Committee. Simon wouldn’t go into specifics on those plans.

When asked about basketball players wearing masks while playing, Simon said the committees did not mandate the use of them.

“The NFHS’ (National Federation of High Schools) consideration is masks can be worn by players, but they don’t mandate that,” Simon said. “Ultimately, the recommendation is up to our sports medical committee whether to accept the recommendation from the (sport) committees. That being said, masks are an option for student-athletes to wear, but it’s not something being mandated by the committees.”

But for an abundance of reasons — travel restrictions, COVID-19 protocols, etc. — that game could be canceled.

Of course, as with all scheduling for 2020-21, things could change rapidly.

NC State went 20-12 overall last season and 10-10 in the ACC. It will be led by redshirt senior D.J. Funderburk, who averaged 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season.

NC State was originally slated to play in the Legends Classic, along with UConn, but wound up pulling out long before the event announced its participants. UConn is still slated to play in the Legends Classic at Mohegan Sun on Dec. 2 and 3, along with USC, Vanderbilt and BYU.

The Huskies are expected to play three non-conference games at Gampel Pavilion, with Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State likely to be two of the opponents.

The Big East season is currently scheduled to begin on Dec. 11. The league hopes each team gets in four or five games over about a two-week stretch, at respective home arenas (Gampel Pavilion, etc.). It is possible the league could go into a bubble-type situation in January, when students return to campus from semester break.

Big East Media Day is on Wednesday, and the conference hopes to have at least its December schedule announced by then.