An Altered March Madness Would Feel Strange, but Right Decision Must Be Made

Editor's note: After this article was published, NCAA President Mark Emmert announced the NCAA will "conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance," meaning March Madness games will likely be played without fans in attendance. 

I cannot imagine spring without March Madness. You, a college basketball fan, probably feel the same. The NCAA tournament is a truly national event, stretching beyond casual fans to hook millions of people who otherwise never watch a second of the sport.

But as the coronavirus begins to spread in the United States, it's become clear that we should be ready for change.

No sport, game or tournament is more important than mitigating the impact of a global pandemic. And the World Health Organization did officially designate COVID-19 as such on Wednesday.

How that affects 2020's editions of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments remains unclear. And I—a simple sportswriter with a platform—am not pretending to have the answer or at all suggesting a course of action.

What I am offering, however, is a couple of potential outcomes with an overview of obstacles that may create an unusual March.

The most dramatic step, of course, would be an outright cancellation of the tournaments. It's fair to suggest that every possible measure will be considered before this, given the near-billion dollars the men's tournament generates annually. Last year, per Sara Jerde of AdWeek, ad revenue topped $933 million.

If there's any possibility the tournament can be held, it will be. Right or wrong, money—especially that amount—is going to muddle the discussion.

March Madness is really important to a lot of people. We understand this affects how people process the situation. Deciding to cancel the tournaments—as the Ivy League recently did with its conference tourneys—would be crushing, especially for the players and coaches who've worked for this moment.

Consider the thoughts of Harvard guard Bryce Aiken:

At some point, though, the combination of money and emotion will pale in comparison to the physical risks—no matter if someone is ready to accept them. Where exactly is that line?

The second-largest step would be closing the doors and playing in an empty (or mostly vacant) gym. The Big West and MAC men's and women's tournaments have restricted or limited attendance, and the NCAA has confirmed this is an option, according to CNN.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has already declared the state will not allow spectators for First Four games in Dayton or the first and second rounds in Cleveland.

Regardless of whether fans attend, television ratings will remain strong. That's where the money is. Broadcasters don't need a packed stadium to sell advertisements.

However, let's play the hypothetical game and suggest the NCAA makes no adjustments.

Colleges around the country are moving to online learning exclusively. Conferences are limiting who can attend conference tournaments. Wouldn't it be morally inconsistent for campus and conference leadership to send players to March Madness? In other words, they'd be saying, It's unsafe to attend class or play in front of a couple thousand people, but totally fine with 20,000-plus.

Kinda backward, right?

Another part of the dilemma would be if the NCAA makes a decision that runs contrary to a state, local or campus mandate.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee, for example, has announced a ban on gatherings or events of 250-plus people. At this moment, that does not include Spokane County—which is scheduled to host first- and second-round games of the men's tournament and possibly the women's tournament too, should Gonzaga's women's program receive a No. 4 seed or better.

Santa Clara County in California recently banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Stanford is a projected No. 2 seed in the women's tournament, and those opening-round games are supposed to be played on campus. Sacramento and Los Angeles are not currently under restriction, but it's plausible the state of California will develop guidelines.

DeWine previously recommended there be no spectators at sporting events. Dayton won't have any, and Cleveland is part of the opening-round rotation in 2020. Will that portion of the tournament follow suit?

New York has one of the largest concentrations of confirmed cases. If action is taken, that may affect Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games at Madison Square Garden.

Will the NCAA instead take a half-measure and provide an attendance policy subject to state and local government rules?

In fairness, the guideline may evolve as the tournament progresses. What seems the right decision today might be the wrong determination tomorrow. If that becomes clear, so be it.

The third option is unchanged attendance policies. You might be thinking, hey, this is simple: If you or someone you know has tested positive, just don't go!

Recently, news broke about a Missouri family that allegedly disregarded a directive to self-quarantine after a daughter tested positive for the coronavirus. True or not, the resolution of that specific case is less important than realizing we're not always thinking of others.

If people in direct contact with someone who tests positive decide against a precautionary measure, how can we possibly expect unaware carriers of the virus to do that? Apologies for being the downer, but humans are flawed. We make mistakes, both willingly and unknowingly, every single day. This one happens to involve a public health dilemma.

The powers-that-be are tasked with weighing these factors, and the challenge they're facing isn't an enviable one.

Should the experts say the NCAA tournament isn't worth the risk, I'm ready to be disappointed. If they say restricting attendance is the best option, I'll be sad to not cover the tournament or see fans enjoy the experience. It's really cool!

But we'll survive without a year of normalcy in March Madness, especially if it means saving lives.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.