In January, the NCAA announced that the entire men’s and women’s March Madness Tournaments will be played in a bubble-like environment in Indiana and Texas, respectively. Due to the pandemic, NCAA officials decided that holding each tournament in only one area would be a safer option.
There are six different sites in Indiana that are hosting the games: Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena and Assembly Hall. The NCAA is providing safe transportation for the athletes to travel between the different stadiums.
Although some may worry about the safety of the tournament during the pandemic despite the precautions being taken, March Madness should continue. The NBA has already found success with a bubble-like system during the previous season and ended the season with a minimal amount of positive COVID-19 cases. Similar to the NBA, one of the NCAA’s biggest priorities seems to be the safety of athletes, and they are doing a lot to keep the players as safe as possible.
The NCAA has stated that it will allow up to 25% of spectator capacity into the arena. As the vaccines start to get released and COVID-19 cases decrease, the addition of fans in arenas creates a more normal environment for student-athletes. Many athletes feed off the energy of the crowd, and the lack of fans during their normal season has hurt that aspect of the game.
“The addition of fans in arenas creates a more normal environment for student-athletes”
The spectators will also help economically, because March Madness is one of the largest yearly events for the NCAA. At the 2019 Final Four matchups between Virginia-Auburn and Michigan State-Texas Tech, there were 144,773 fans in total who attended the Final Four, along with an all-time record of 2,442 credentialed media. There were also 135 million social media views throughout the course of the tournament and an all-time record of about 100 million live streams, according to the NCAA.
March Madness likely will not greatly add to the spread of COVID-19. The COVID-19 positivity rate in Florida on Feb. 4, three days before Super Bowl LV, was 9.4%, compared to only 7.9% when tested on Feb. 23. The NCAA will constantly test athletes, officials, coaches, spectators and anybody who has had contact with a team member.
“One of the NCAA’s biggest priorities seems to be the safety of athletes”
March Madness should also be played because it is beneficial for both NBA teams and college athletes. The tournament gives athletes a chance to showcase their abilities while also allowing NBA scouts, general managers and coaches to see a player’s potential.
According to a poll done by Columbia graduate Casey Ichniowski and Haverford graduate Anne Preston from 1997 to 2010, a player’s performance in March Madness could positively or negatively affect their draft position. The tournament is the most popular college basketball event of the year, and professional teams get a look at how players perform under pressure, the style of play, their leadership and how that play could possibly translate to the NBA.
March Madness is a crucial event that should be played, for economic purposes, for the benefit of NBA teams and college athletes and to give colleges a chance to compete for a national title, a chance they were robbed of last year.
