2020 has left nothing but questions for sports fans all across the world. Some are wondering if there will still be a season. Others are wondering if they will have to wait until COVID-19 has died down to see their favorite sporting events.

The university women’s and men’s basketball teams plan to have a 2020-2021 season, if things go accordingly.

According to Jay Artigues, director of athletics, the plans will be officially decided within the next few weeks.

“The plans for basketball will be decided on in the next couple weeks by the NCAA,” shared Artigues. “As of today, it will start on time. Another proposal is to push the start date to Nov. 25.”

Along with the National Collegiate Athletics Association deciding if universities can resume play, each conference has the ability to decide if they will allow their teams to play out-of-conference matchups.

Artigues shared how both men’s and women’s basketball coaches are excited to get back on the floor.

“I know both coaches are excited and anxious to get the seasons underway,” stated Artigues.

Second-year men’s basketball head coach David Kiefer shared what precautions the team has been going through over the past few months to ensure player safety is at its highest.

“Throughout the day, the coaches and support staff are required to wear masks,” shared Kiefer. “We are also not in full practice mode in order to limit the contact between players. Before entering the training room, our players receive temperature checks. During the summer, we did not have any contact with the student-athletes. We had weekly Zoom meetings and daily phone checkups just to ensure that the student-athletes were okay, but we did not have any in-person contact. We are also testing a portion of our coaches, players and support staff weekly in order to ensure that everyone is healthy.”

Kiefer and the staff check in with the student-athletes daily to make sure that they are following COVID-19 guidelines.

“We try to maintain constant communication with our roster, although, now it is mostly via phone,” commented Kiefer. “We understand that these current times are stressful for our athletes, so we mainly are just checking on them and making sure everything is going well.”

Kiefer commented on the incoming freshman class and its leadership qualities.

“I am most excited about the experience and leadership this incoming class brings,” shared Kiefer. “They have all been well-coached and prepared to play at the college level.”

The university has not published either men’s or women’s basketball schedules.