Texas Basketball: NCAA manages to make the wrong move again
Another potentially controversial decision headlined the day for the NCAA, and the news cycle for the Texas basketball program on March 18.
The mounting frustration with the NCAA and its handling of college athletics hit a boiling point when hoops was supposed to start its postseason. Many were angered by the way that the NCAA handled the cancellation of various championships for spring sports and with the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. And the Texas basketball program was one of many impacted by the decision to half the conference tournaments and the Big Dance this month.
Cause for cancellation of pretty much every major sporting event/professional and college sports league worldwide was obviously warranted. All of the precautions surrounding the novel coronavirus shut down a good portion of events, business, and travel within the United States among a number of other countries. The Texas Longhorns basketball program is once again among those impacted by the decisions.
According to a report from Jon Rothstein, the NCAA is unlikely to grant the extra year of eligibility to all seniors that participated in winter sports during the 2019-20 academic year. It does look like all spring sports athletes could be getting an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA, which would includes Longhorns athletic programs such as baseball and softball.
Sources: The NCAA is unlikely to grant an extra year of eligibility for student athletes who participated in winter sports and had their seasons cut short due to coronavirus.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 18, 2020
An extra year of eligibility is still in play for student athletes involved with spring sports.
Moreover, this report wouldn’t impact a whole lot of players on the Longhorns projected roster for the 2020-21 college basketball season. The only senior that the Longhorns have rostered from the season that was included guard Drayton Whiteside. Texas would likely be returning the bulk of the rest of their roster, barring NBA Draft and transfer decisions this coming offseason.
We’re talking about how this decision as a whole reflects on the NCAA, despite the common sense thought process that went into cancelling the Big Dance due to COVID-19. The NCAA can’t seem to get most of their decisions right when it comes to supporting college athletes.
There should at least be a decision making process in place here that would let each senior appeal their eligibility to grant one more year. A number of seniors in men’s and women’s college basketball could be getting a chance to shine during March Madness that would elevate their draft stock. Some of those players might get the chance to play in the NBA and WNBA, where they won’t otherwise since the tournaments were shut down.
Put a set criteria for an appeals process in place and let any seniors who deserve to come back for one more year in the world of college basketball do so. The NCAA might be too quick to pull the trigger on this decision, and it reflects poorly on an already controversial image for them.
I do get that not every senior would want to return to their college hoops team for the 2020-21 season. But the fact that the NCAA might not even give them the decision to choose between paths is a problem in and of itself.
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Texas capped of their regular season run with a record of 19-12 (9-9 Big 12). They were set to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. But the college basketball season was cut short before the Longhorns would figure out their fate both in the Big 12 Tournament and on Selection Sunday.