DALLAS, Texas – Conference USA, the league in which Old Dominion University competes, will be making adjustments to its regular season conference scheduling and Championship formats for Men’s and Women’s Basketball, as approved by the league’s Board of Directors.
This season, the league will move to a new 18-game regular season format for conference play that focuses on the health and safety of student-athletes. In this format, schools will play two games per visit at four select C-USA schools and host four select teams for a two-game series, while playing a rival opponent one time home and away.
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Moving to this schedule format will significantly reduce the amount of travel during conference play, with the aim of minimizing the risks associated with COVID-19. Additionally, the final week of the regular season may be utilized to re-schedule any postponed games.
"[It] will be about how well you can play on the court, but a lot of it is gonna be can you survive?" ODU head men's basketball coach Jeff Jones told News 3. "Can you avoid the coronavirus and the quarantines and the contract tracing? In many ways it's an endurance contest and it might not be necessarily be the best team, but who's the best team that can keep their squad at full strength."
The Championship format will return to its familiar 12-team field that it has utilized for the past several seasons. The top 12 regular season finishers in conference play will qualify for the Championship.
The 2021 C-USA Basketball Championships presented by the Baylor, Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star are scheduled for March 10-13 in Frisco, Texas. This will be the fourth year that the event will be held in Frisco.
Regular season Conference play for both men’s and women’s basketball is scheduled to begin on December 31.
