FOREST, Va. - The ODAC continued its three-day rollout of its intentions to conduct fall and winter sports in the spring semester on Friday, announcing the schedules for select winter sports.
Included in this release are schedule frameworks for men's and women's basketball. Both featured reduced contests from their traditional 16-game and 18-game unbalanced schedules, respectively. The adjusted formats maintain conference tournament opportunities and ultimately the chance to earn the ODAC's automatic bids to the NCAA Tournaments.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and restrictions/guidelines resulting from it, has led to considerable changes in the swimming and indoor track & field competition schedules. For swimming, the ODAC has pushed back the championship to the weekend of March 5, which still allows for recorded times for possible NCAA championship qualification. ODAC leadership is working with the swimming coaches committee on competition opportunities and finalizing logistics for the championship, which will feature an adjusted event schedule from previous events.
For indoor track & field, the conference will not conduct an ODAC championship this season on the recommendation of its coaching committee. Schools will still be permitted to compete as opportunities present themselves. Any competition will feature as part of an overall track & field season that includes indoor and outdoor competitions. The ODAC outdoor championship remains as previously scheduled.
"Indoor sports present further challenges for competition than outdoors sports when considering our current landscape," explained ODAC Commissioner Brad Bankston. "It is our intent to provide our student-athletes with a strong athletic experience while keeping their safety and those associated with their sports as top priority. ODAC leadership will continue to monitor health and safety recommendations as we look for the best situations in welcoming our student-athletes back to their athletic arenas."
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Below is a brief description of the men's and women's basketball schedules as well as links to their default structures. For all schedules, dates can be adjusted as necessary and should be considered subject to change.
For more information, be sure to check back to the ODAC website at www.odaconline.com and visit each of the conference members' athletics websites. Don't forget to follow the ODAC on Facebook and Twitter and become a fan of the league on Instagram.
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Schedule --- WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | Schedule
The ODAC men's and women's basketball schedules feature 12-game single round-robin formats followed by four-team conference tournaments. Play is slated to begin on Saturday, January 23 and conclude Saturday, February 27. The top four seeds will play in semifinals on Thursday, March 4 followed by the conference championships on Saturday, March 6. The winners will earn ODAC titles as well as the conference's bids to the NCAA Tournament.