Extraordinary times call for extraordinary ideas and measures. The latest comes from the ACC and it’s outside the box thinking in regards to the 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament.
According to Jeff Goodman, the ACC is set to propose that every Division I team make the upcoming NCAA Tournament. If you’re counting, that would expand the tourney from 68 teams to 346 (13 are non-qualifiers for various reasons). That’s one doozy of a tournament, and it sounds like way too much to handle, but it really only means three more rounds depending on how you set it up.
Still, count this as a pie in the sky idea. At a time when things are being shrunken down with contemplating a modified “bubble format” for teams that return to play, this seems the optimistic other end of the spectrum as the world emerges out of a once in a lifetime pandemic.
BREAKING: The ACC coaches will propose an all-inclusive NCAA tournament, sources told @stadium. The coaches just finished the call and voted unanimously on this.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 9, 2020
The proposal is being spearheaded by Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski but has the unanimous support of all the ACC coaches according to Goodman.
Based on another tweet from Goodman, it appears as though the ACC wants it to be a celebration of sorts for the return of basketball. “This is a unique time and it’s time to do something different,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim told Goodman.
Jim Boeheim to @Stadium on the ACC’s proposal to include every team in the NCAA tournament:
“This is a unique time and it’s time to do something different.”
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) September 9, 2020
We all remember it too well, but the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled before it ever got off the ground because of concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. It was one of the things that set off a chain of events in the cancelation of multiple sports across multiple levels.
We’ll see if this gets more traction, but first things first, the Division I Council has to approve a recommendation by the NCAA Oversight Committee to start the season on November 25 first.
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