Since the field expanded to 16 teams in 2003, there have been eight first-round games hosted by higher-seeded teams the first weekend of the tournament, then two predetermined quarterfinal hosts the next weekend. The tournament has culminated with the semifinals and final on Memorial Day weekend since 1986.
Hofstra and Notre Dame are scheduled to play host to quarterfinal doubleheaders this season. East Hartford, Conn., is due to open a two-year run as the championship weekend host.
The biggest changes could be tied to the first round. Given the various pandemic restrictions, it would be difficult to assign a first-round game to a campus site on Sunday and expect to receive approval not just from schools but also local governments to play less than a week later.
“Are we going to be able to still do the first round like we normally do, or are we going to have to go to predetermined sites?” Leonard said. “I would say it’s probably leaning more toward that right now, having a predetermined site, simply because of all the logistics we have to have answers on.”
It creates an almost endless string of hypotheticals, but it’s worth remembering some other key components. One is cost containment, something the NCAA often applies to the tournament but has even more incentive to be concerned with given the current economic conditions. Tied to that is testing demands, which would be more cost-effective if done at fewer sites.
Especially in the latter stages of the tournament, the committee leans heavily on NCAA personnel to run the event. Yet with fall championships shifted to the spring, those people are especially spread thin.
These are exactly the variables and questions the committee is already pondering, even if there aren’t firm answers yet.