CIAC to shorten season by week

The CIAC boys basketball season is being shortened by one week next season due to a scheduling conflict at Mohegan Sun Arena.

According to an email sent by that CIAC boys basketball committee to the state’s coaches, Mohegan Sun informed the CIAC that its venue will not be available for the CIAC’s intended finals date of March 22-23, 2025. So, the finals are now being scheduled for the weekend prior, March 15-16.

The move was confirmed by a CIAC email sent to member school principals and athletic directors, obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media.

While those dates fall on the same weekend as this past season, the 2024-25 basketball season is set to begin later since Thanksgiving Day — the end of the high school football regular season — falls later on the calendar, Nov. 28, which pushes the boys basketball start dates a week later.

According to the email sent to coaches, the CIAC boys basketball committee voted to start the season one week earlier to coincide with the start of the girls season, but was rebuffed by the Connecticut Association of Athletic Directors (CAAD). The other option was finding a different site for the CIAC finals.

Instead, the boys’ regular season, which typically ends a week after girls basketball, will be shortened by a week and conclude at the same time as the girls. That means the boys and girls conference tournaments will fall on the same week.

Both state tournaments will also align. The CIAC girls tournament, held over three weeks since the finals were moved to the Mohegan Sun Arena for 2008-09, will be held over two weeks this season.

The first day of girls basketball practice begins Monday, Dec. 2. Boys basketball practice begins on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The regular seasons begin on Friday, Dec. 13 for girls and Tuesday, Dec. 17 for boys. The last day for regular season boys and girls games to count is Tuesday, Feb. 25. The playdowns for the CIAC boys tournament is Feb. 27 and the first round will begin on Saturday, March 1 — the same day as the girls.

All CIAC boys and girls basketball semifinals are scheduled to be held Monday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 11.

The email to coaches indicated that the boys basketball committee had asked CAAD to allow the boys and girls to both begin preseason practice on Dec. 2. But CAAD decided against a temporary change to the start of next season, citing not enough time to completely vet the implications of such a change.

This past season, boys practice began on Nov. 30, the regular season commenced on Dec. 14 and ended on Feb. 27.

A number of teams were able to complete their regular seasons early this past year to get ready for their respective league tournaments. Those tournaments will now have to be completed earlier.