OMAHA, Nebraska – Coaches from two of the top teams in the NCAA Division I volleyball tournament on Thursday complained about the event next week, with Kelly Sheffield of Wisconsin saying it could continue to shed an unfavorable light on the treatment of women athletes. the governing body of university sports.
The NCAA, as with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, moved the volleyball tournament to a single location as protection against COVID-19. The game starts on Wednesday.
The tournament has been moved since the fall due to the pandemic and will take place at CHI Health Center with 48 teams instead of the usual 64. The first three rounds will be played on the grounds arranged in a convention hall. The rest will be played in the adjacent arena.
ESPN will broadcast the first two rounds on its digital platforms without ads or play-by-play analysts.
“I really hope they look more closely at this. I have a feeling that could explode as much as what things have done in the weight room in women’s basketball,” Sheffield said, referring to NCAA criticism for that it did not initially offer a full weight -training area for women’s teams. “It simply came to our notice then [having] a broadcast team. To me, it’s lazy … to just watch the silence as you watch the NCAA tournament games. “
The national matches in the semifinals and the championship match will be televised on ESPN2.
Sheffield, whose Badgers are No. 1 seed after finishing second to Stanford in 2019, said the lack of announcers for the first two rounds diminished the tournament.
“It will come as a high school business,” he said. “It should feel special. For many people, it won’t be the case.”
The NCAA said in a statement that ESPN is not required to produce any coverage in the first and second rounds and that COVID-19 restrictions create technical challenges.
John Cook of Nebraska, whose team is ranked 5th, said coaches are concerned about using the convention center. There will be four competition courts arranged in two halls, as well as eight practice grounds in a third hall.
Four matches will be played simultaneously in the first and second rounds – similar to a high school club tournament, Cook said.
No locker rooms will be available at the start of the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.
“Volleyball players warm up and then change into uniforms,” Cook said. “How does this work if you’re in the middle of conference room C?”
The NCAA said the teams will have secure areas for changing clothes.
“Contrary to reports, players were never expected to change their clothes on the bench,” the NCAA said.
Cook said that instead of playing in the convention center, the NCAA should host early games at Creighton’s Sokol Arena, Nebraska-Omaha’s Baxter Arena and Nebraska’s Devaney Center in Lincoln.
“It’s much more enjoyable at an NCAA tournament, because these are three great facilities [and better] than the arrangement they have now, which is in a convention center, with no locker rooms, no bathrooms, “Cook said.” It will be interesting how everything is resolved. “