NCAA’s Dan Gavitt confident March Madness will be held in “much more normal circumstances”

Dan Gavitt knows March Madness inside and out. It’s a big part of his job.

Gavitt is officially the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball. He essentially oversees the NCAA Tournament, one of the most cherished events on the sports calendar, and it hasn’t been an easy job the past few years in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 tournament was canceled by the pandemic. Every game in the last year’s tournament was played in Indianapolis, or nearby, in bubble-like settings to safeguard against COVID interruptions.

This season? Well, Gavitt took a scouting trip, attending Gonzaga’s win over Pacific along with 6,000 fans last Thursday, and that in itself was an indication of just how different the current situation is with March Madness on the horizon.

“Dramatically different,” Gavitt said. “As we see out here tonight, the fact that Jalen Suggs and his teammates weren’t able to play in front of fans last year and now they can. We’re planning on having a tournament in much more normal circumstances, much more like 2019 than last year.

“Fourteen sites from (the First Four in) Dayton to (the Final Four in) New Orleans. There will certainly be some restrictions and some precautions and we have contingencies if we need to use them, but planning is going very, very well.”

Gavitt sat at an interview table inside the McCarthey Athletic Center shortly after Suggs, who made a surprise visit to Thursday’s game, chatted with media members. The NCAA executive cracked that he hasn’t hit a winning shot at the Final Four the way Suggs did against UCLA last April, but his remarks underscored the tournament’s magnitude to him, players, coaches, programs and the sports world.

“It’s very personal for me and our entire staff,” Gavitt said. “As I sat there and listened to Jalen and I think back to last year, guys in particular like Corey Kispert and Jared Butler from Baylor, our motivation was to get the tourney played somehow someway so that they could have that experience, having lost it for those guys that would have qualified in 2020.

“Many of those players like Corey and Jared came back to have a college season and certainly to play in the tournament. While Jalen and Corey couldn’t have the experience these (current players) are having with the Kennel and the crowd, at least they have the memories from the tournament, as different as it was, that will hopefully last a lifetime.”

Gavitt connected with Zags coach Mark Few, athletic director Chris Standiford and former A.D. Mike Roth on his trip. At Few’s request, Gavitt addressed Gonzaga’s team when the Zags were in Indianapolis for regular-season games last year against West Virginia and Baylor, the latter eventually scrapped due to COVID-19 issues.

GU players offered suggestions on how to enhance the tournament bubble environment.

Gavitt’s visit last week was to “find out what they’re experiencing and to help with the experience they’re going to have in March. I try as much as I can to get to games, especially those teams we have a high level of confidence are going to be in the tournament or high seeds.”

Each tournament site could have different COVID protocols, depending on local regulations in each city.

“We’ll see where we’re at in four or five weeks’ time,” Gavitt said, “but we’re planning on those things and honoring the local restrictions that are in place by county.”

Last season’s tournament at one geographic region with teams following strict COVID rules was unique. The NCAA has talked about the possibility of having the last two weeks of the tournament (regional round and Final Four) at one site, but that would be “years down the road,” Gavitt said.

“I think that the players and coaches really enjoyed, despite the restrictions, the ability to be together, not have to travel and having a dedicated space like we did in the convention center for practices and a single location,” Gavitt said. “We’re committed to sites now for the next number of years, but I think we could get creative and provide an experience that’s unique in the future.”

One difference between this season and last: seemingly a longer list of Final Four and championship contenders.

“It proved out that Gonzaga and Baylor were the two best teams by far all season and played in the championship game,” Gavitt said of 2021. “It’ll make for a great March Madness because I think there’s a little more uncertainty this year, a little more parity.”

Gavitt offered a final thought as the news conference ended.

“See you in March,” he said.