Federal shutdowns under President Biden could impact many schools and prompt a midseason pauseGETTY IMAGES
There is a "growing sense of nervousness" among multiple conference commissioners and ADs "over the stability of the college basketball season," according to Matt Norlander of CBSSPORTS.com. The reasons for this are "two-fold, both of course based around the ominous nature of the coronavirus." With President Biden now in office, high-ranking NCAA officials are in "wait-and-see mode about monitoring case counts across the country and bracing for the possibility of federal shutdowns that could impact dozens if not hundreds of schools -- prompting a midseason pause in the process." Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade said, "The anxiety level is high for myself and a lot of my colleagues and a lot of coaches. It's a constant -- everyone is just holding their breath." Norlander noted the NCAA releasing its dates for the men's basketball tournament earlier this week is "not making matters easier." While that new release "projects confidence," it also "poses a rigid scheduling problem if college basketball were induced into a February freeze." Biden "hasn't come out with a full plan yet -- and there's an unease in college sports about what's going to happen as we get to February." Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said that February is "going to be so critical to his league and others because the time is just about up to push back games without real consequence" (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/21).
