Proposals in Men’s Basketball Tabled

The Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee tabled legislative proposals regarding preseason practice scrimmages and exhibition games, as well as an item focused on multiple-team events including the criteria that only one team per conference may participate in the same event.

Committee members consisting of athletics administrators, coaches and student-athletes met this week in Indianapolis and discussed these proposals thoroughly before voting to table them, citing variables that need more vetting.

The preseason practice scrimmages and exhibition game proposal would have allowed teams to play up to two exhibition contests against Division I opponents before a team’s first regular-season game and would have eliminated the requirement that preseason practice scrimmages must be conducted in privacy and without publicity or official scoring. Concerns were raised on potential inconsistencies in the application of the proposed rule within the current collegiate athletics environment.

A bylaw remains in place that permits a men’s basketball team to play in up to two closed preseason practice scrimmages or exhibition contests — or a combination of the two — against a non-Division I school.

The oversight committee also requested the NCAA Division I Committee for Legislative Relief amend its waiver guidelines for basketball preseason exhibition contests seeking to raise funds for charity to allow relief for up to two exhibition contests against a Division I opponent, provided other criteria specified in the current waiver guidelines are met.

A decision by the Committee for Legislative Relief is expected in the next two weeks. Current waiver guidelines permit a school to participate in one such exhibition contest.

The multiple-team event proposal would have allowed two teams from the same conference to participate in an eight-team, single-site qualifying event during the regular season, provided certain requirements were met.

Due to the tabling of the proposal, for 2024-25, all multiple-team events, regardless of size, may have only one team per conference.

The rationale for tabling the multiple-team proposal includes:

• Ongoing challenges associated with regular-season scheduling.
• Differing landscapes in men’s and women’s basketball have created challenges in determining the appropriate criteria for multiple-team event legislation.
• The Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee needs additional time to reach the most desirable outcome for maximum contest limits.
• The oversight committee will engage in a comprehensive multiple-team event review in the near future.

“The realignment and growth of conference memberships has led to challenges associated with meeting the one-team-per-conference criteria for multiple-team events,” said Eddie Nuñez, chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee and director of athletics at New Mexico. “The MBOC decided it is in the best long-term interest of the game to take a thorough review of the entire multiple-team event landscape before making any piecemeal changes.

“Also, while there is great value in having teams participate in exhibition games against Division I opponents that help prepare them for regular-season competition, the committee will continue its dialogue on the proposal. In the meantime, we hope that schools continue to take advantage of the ability to play Division I opponents to raise funds for charities via the established waiver process.”

–News release courtesy of NCAA PR ( NCAA.org )

–Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports