The NCAA has released COVID-19 guidance for the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. The code of conduct outlines COVID-19 protocols and testing requirements for each championship, aligning with the approach for other winter championships.
Although the guidance encourages indoor masking when Tier 1 individuals are not practicing and competing, in their hotel room, or eating and drinking, each team may also implement protocols that are in keeping with local public health authorities and the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on COVID-19 Community Level and COVID-19 Prevention. The guidance does not require on-site testing for asymptomatic individuals in Tier 1.
All individuals in the official travel party will be considered Tier 1. Before traveling to championship sites, they must be tested for COVID-19 or meet the requirements for exemption from testing.
All nonexempt individuals in a travel party must produce a negative COVID-19 test result before travel to a tournament site. This can be an antigen test within one day of arrival or a PCR test within two days of arrival.
To be exempt from testing, a Tier 1 participant must be fully vaccinated or have documentation of a COVID-19 infection within the previous 90 days. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated if they are 14 days past completing the primary series of vaccination or have completed the primary series of vaccination and have received a booster.
On-site testing recommendations will be made by the team’s primary athletics health care provider and will be based on a combination of symptoms or a risk assessment from a documented close contact with someone with COVID-19. Tournament hosts will provide COVID-19 tests on site.
Tier 1 individuals, including student-athletes, should engage only in scheduled team activities when traveling or at a host/competition site.
Schools were reminded that local municipalities and venues might have more stringent COVID-19 testing protocols than guidance outlined by the NCAA and CDC. Officials will receive similar NCAA protocols as those provided to member schools.
The guidance was developed in conjunction with the NCAA Medical Advisory Group. For more on COVID-19 and college sports, visit ncaa.org/covid-19.
