Athletics Veritas is a weekly series aimed at helping higher education executives, faculty, and other stakeholders stay tuned in on trending national issues impacting college athletics, especially NCAA Division I. Athletics Veritas is created by senior DI athletic administrators around the nation.
Term-in-Ology: NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments are Exemptible from Annual Contest Limits
Division I playing season rules include a variety of “exemptions” which allow for certain types of contests and events to not count against that sport’s season contest or dates of competition limits. For men’s and women’s basketball contests, this would include exempting the NCAA’s respective March Madness tournaments.
Specifically, NCAA rules note that contests in one postseason basketball tournament (e.g., NCAA championship) are exempted unless the institution has participated in the Men's National Invitation Tournament or the Women's National Invitation Tournament. NCAA rules note that a postseason tournament involves competition after the end of the regular season between teams that are not identified until the close of that regular season.
Should a team participate in multiple season-ending postseason basketball tournaments (e.g., NCAA, NIT, CIT), that NCAA school is inviting a potential NCAA violation of the basketball contest limits as some of those season-ending tournament games would not be part of the same, singular season ending postseason tournament and, in turn, would have to count toward the season limit and potentially cause the team to exceed the annual limit.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
