Ted Valentine, John Higgins and Roger Ayers are among the notable officials who have been removed from the NCAA Tournament due to COVID-19 protocols, Jeff Goodman reports.
At least one official has tested positive, resulting in the other five removed due to contact tracing. The group went to dinner upon arriving in Indianapolis, waiting for their rooms to be ready. Because of the group’s proximity, the Indiana Department of Health ruled them ineligible to referee the tournament.
Typically inviting 100 officials to referee the tournament, this year’s edition has only 60. One protocol instituted this year did not allow officials to leave the site hotel unless traveling to one of the tournament arenas.