Davidson basketball’s A-10 opener has been postponed as league changes COVID policy
.JPG "Davidson head coach Bob McKillop watches tip-off of the Wildcats’ game against Alabama last week. Davidson’s game scheduled for Thursday has been postponed.")
The surge in COVID cases fueled by the Omicron variant will delay the start of the conference season for the Davidson men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The Wildcats said Tuesday that COVID-19 protocols have forced them to postpone Thursday’s scheduled Atlantic-10 men’s opener at home against Duquesne.
Also called off was the women’s scheduled opener at home Saturday.
Five of the A-10’s seven men’s conference games scheduled for Thursday have been postponed: Duquesne at Davidson, St. Bonaventure at George Washington, George Mason at VCU, Dayton at Rhode Island and Saint Louis at UMass.
The postponement came on the same day that the A-10 announced a revision in its COVID forfeiture policy.
Originally, teams that could not play due to health protocols would forfeit their A-10 games. The new policy calls for the game to be postponed and rescheduled if possible.
If games cannot be rescheduled, they will be declared a no-contest.
In addition, teams with at least seven student-athletes and one coach not in COVID-19 protocols are required to play. If they do not play, they forfeit the game.
The ACC and most other college athletic conferences have made similar decisions in recent days, as the fast-spreading Omicron variant has quickly increased the number of players and teams testing positive with the virus.
The A-10 also said its medical advisory board will meet Wednesday to review the newest Centers for Disease Control policy about isolation for asymptomatic and vaccinated people.
A large number of vaccinated people testing positive with the Omicron variant have been asymptomatic. Under the new CDC policy, the isolation for vaccinated individuals who test positive but are not sick has been reduced from 10 to five days.
The A-10 will decide Wednesday whether the CDC’s new policy will be used by the conference.
The Fordham-La Salle and Saint Joseph’s-Richmond games are still scheduled.
The Davidson women’s game scheduled for Wednesday at TCU has been canceled.
Also postponed were four women’s games planned for Saturday: Fordham at Davidson, George Mason at UMass, VCU at La Salle and Dayton at Rhode Island.
The Davidson men now are scheduled to open A-10 play Sunday at VCU.
The Wildcat women’s next game is next Wednesday, at home against Saint Joseph’s.