By Ohio Valley Conference
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Due to the fluid nature of the 2020-21 basketball season, the Ohio Valley Conference has put contingency plans in place for the OVC Basketball Championship.
If a full OVC basketball conference schedule cannot be completed this year, plans are in place to adjust brackets for the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships.
If the full conference slate is completed by the top eight seeds, the merit-based brackets (which include double byes for the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and single byes for the No. 3 and 4 seeds) will be used for the men's and women's teams as originally planned.
If a full schedule cannot be completed, the brackets will switch to a traditional format (No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, etc.) for this year only.
The move was endorsed by the OVC's Council of Directors of Athletics and approved by the OVC Board of Presidents.
"After much examination and deliberation, the membership decided that for the 2021 tournament only, a traditional bracket model would be the most prudent approach given the possibility that not all OVC teams may play the same number of Conference games during the season due to pandemic-related cancelations," said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. "Our membership believes this modification in structure for the 2021 Championship will provide the fairest championship experience for our student-athletes.
The Council has left open the option to check in on the progress of the season and make additional adjustments if necessary.
The 2021 OVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournament is scheduled for March 3-6 at The Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
A merit-based bracket with byes has been used for the OVC Men's Basketball Tournament since 2011. That format was used for the OVC Women's Basketball Tournament from 2011-14 and was scheduled to return in 2021.
The Golden Eagle basketball programs will return to OVC play Wednesday, Dec. 30 with a doubleheader slated against Southeast Missouri in the Eblen Center. Tips are scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT for the women's squad and 8:00 p.m. for the men's team.
