Conference championship week would reportedly serve as the opening week of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, per the ACC's plan.
The Big Dance could be getting a whole lot larger in 2021 if the NCAA follows the ACC's proposed plan.
The ACC is reportedly proposing the 2021 NCAA Tournament be held with every single Division I team, per Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde. The plan was first reported by Stadium's Jeff Goodman.
The ACC's plan–which was voted on unanimously by the conference's coaches, per Goodman–would include more than 350 teams in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The week of conference tournaments would serve as the first week of the NCAA Tournament, with the field trimmed to 64 or 68 teams in the following week. The plan for selecting and seeding at-large bids has not been announced.
The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled on March 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships," the NCAA said in a statement. "This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities."
The 2020-21 college basketball season is still slated to be held as scheduled, with the season kicking off on Nov. 10. Duke is set to face Michigan State in the State Farm Champions Classic, with Kansas and Kentucky finishing up the double-header in Chicago.
The first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament is currently set for March 16. The Final Four will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on April 3.