Scheduling
Fairfield and Quinnipiac, has a scheduling model in place. It calls for nonconference games to be played by Dec. 6, with men’s games to be played on Tuesdays and Fridays between Dec. 8 and Feb. 19 with time in early March set aside to make up any games postponed due to COVID-19. Women’s games are to be played Wednesdays and Saturdays between Dec. 9 and Feb. 20. The MAAC tournaments are scheduled for March 9-13.
The Ivy League has canceled all sports during the fall schedule and has shown no signs of changing that. Teams will be required to play at least 13 games against Division I opponents to be eligible for the NCAATournament, so Ivy teams, including Yale, would have to fit the conference schedule into a window between Jan. 1 to early March.
“In our league, we’re going to make sure everybody’s healthy and safe before wemove on,” Yale men’s coach James Jones said. “We’re hoping that will happen and we’ll have a chance to play in the beginning of [2021].”
The Northeast Conference, which includes CCSUandSacred Heart, has had two meetings, but has yet to determine a start date or format for its conference schedule. A mid- to late December start appears most likely.
For programs like Central, the revenue from nonconference “buy” games is an important financial piece. The Blue Devils had games vs. UConn and Virginia Tech scheduled, both of which are now in doubt, and a multiteam event at Rutgers starting Nov. 10, which is likely off with the Nov. 25 start date. The cost of moving into a bubble, at Mohegan or Disney, for nonconference games could be prohibitive for CCSU.
If nonconference games prove impossible, but the NECcan play a full, double round-robin league schedule, the 18 games would be enough for its champion to play in the NCAA Tournament.
At the Division II and III level, winter sports scheduling is still up in the air, but the NCAA is expected to move those tournaments back about a month, from mid-March to mid-April, allowing time for conference-only games to be played beginning Jan. 1.