The NCAA Tournament, a culminating event for college basketball, is a staple of the spring season.

Last year it was canceled for the first time in the post-war era which ruffled some feathers of fans, players and coaches alike. At the time, it was far too dangerous to hold an event that includes hundreds of athletes and requires complete trans-continental travel. The same could be said about high school sports and how they chose to finish the year out last year- canceling the culminating weeks in Oregon (and more states).

That being said, 2021 is a new year and there are high aspirations for the athletic competition opportunities. However, college basketball has made a ruling on their tournament already in that it will be held at 4 or 5 venues across the state of Indiana. This decision makes sense on a couple of levels. Indiana has an unequaled amount of basketball history, it is a central location, and the venues that have been chosen are more than capable of holding an event of such magnitude. This ruling is advantageous for the participating universities who can have an easier time adjusting to the locations and will be required to utilize far fewer resources in order to move their team from venue to venue.

As it pertains to Wilsonville though, many things remain to be seen. A potential solution has been laid out and is catching attention from many athletic directors. The idea is that each school would compile schedules for sports that include geographically similar teams to play against and then have neutral site playoffs per usual but with fewer teams. Wilsonville athletic director Dennis Burke had this to say “Our goal is to get the most games in that we can and be the most safe while doing it.” It has become clear that safety is priority number one and all solutions will be explored.