March Madness 2023: San Diego State makes Final Four after ‘devastating’ cancellation of 2020 NCAA Tournament

March Madness 2023: San Diego State makes Final Four after ‘devastating’ cancellation of 2020 NCAA Tournament

HOUSTON – Aguek Arop tucked his 6-foot-6 frame into the seat for his flight back home after an abrupt and gut-wrenching end to San Diego State’s 2019-20 season. Then, he pulled up a video on his phone that brought the pain into focus.

It was a compilation made by SDSU director of basketball operations Matt Soria of footage from the season for the Aztecs, who were 30-2 and projected as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament before the event’s cancellation amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It was all of his favorite moments from throughout the year,” Arop said. “And that’s when it hit me. I watched that video and I was crying a little bit.”

More than three years have passed since a day that members of the Aztecs’ program still describe as “devastating” and “sad.” SDSU would have matched or improved upon its best NCAA Tournament seeding in program history after a 26-0 start that saw the SDSU rise to No. 4 in the AP poll.

Then, in the blink of an eye, a program that was barreling toward a golden opportunity to go on a run in the NCAA Tournament had its best season in years ripped away by circumstances outside its control.

“It was a feeling that you can’t really put in words,” said Jared Barnett, who was a freshman on that team.

But out of the heartbreak of an abruptly canceled 2020 postseason, came a foundation on which the No. 5 seed Aztecs stand as they prepare to play No. 9 seed FAU in the program’s first-ever Final Four game on Saturday night.

Five players who were on the 2019-20 team are still on the roster, and four of them play significant minutes for coach Brian Dutcher, who is now in his sixth season.

“For the five of us who were on the team, making the Final Four was a real special moment,” Arop said. “We lost it in 2020, we lost that opportunity. Just knowing that at any moment we could lose it, we just have a new sense of appreciation.”

Similar vibes accompanied Baylor during its 2021 national championship and Kansas in its title run last season. The Bears were ranked No. 5 when the 2020 season ended, and Kansas was ranked No. 1, which made the abrupt ending to that campaign similarly painful for them amid realistic championship aspirations. 

But the Bears and Jayhawks were well-established Big 12 programs with recent runs to remember and the talent to quickly make it back to the top.

The Aztecs, by contrast, were enjoying being ranked for the first time in five years when the season was canceled. Then, they lost three starters from the 2019-20 squad, including leading scorer and consensus All-American guard Malachi Flynn.

San Diego State still reached the NCAA Tournament the next two seasons but lost in the first round both times while lacking just a bit of the high-end talent that propelled the 2019-20 team to such great heights.

But the group of Arop, Barnett, Nathan Mensah, Keshad Johnson and Adam Seiko soldiered on to help this group of Aztecs finish what the 2019-20 team started.

“We’re doing it for those guys,” Seiko said. “I’m constantly talking to them, telling them how much I love them, how much I wish they could be here with us in this position. But they’re so happy for us. And we’re just blessed to be here.”

Jordan Schakel, who was a junior on the 2019-20 team, attended the team’s Elite Eight win over Creighton in Louisville and made his way on to the court to celebrate with the team.

“I hope that our success is giving them a sense of joy and happiness and some kind of fulfillment,” Mensah said. “So that’s one thing I hope we’re able to do for them.”

Seiko remembered being at home watching on ESPN when the season was canceled. Arop said he got a phone call from one of the SDSU coaches. Barnett recalled being at an on-campus restaurant with teammates as news started to trickle in of sporting event cancelations. 

Mensah may have been caught off guard more than the others. He had just been cleared to resume playing after a knee injury and texted Flynn with the good news.

“Haven’t you heard?” Flynn responded

That was how the one of the best seasons in SDSU history ended three years ago, and it makes the Aztecs unique in this Final Four. UConn, Miami and FAU were not on track to receive NCAA Tournament bids in 2020 and didn’t deal with the same level of devastation amid the postseason’s cancelation.

But the Aztecs haven’t forgotten what was lost in 2020.

“We always had that in the back of our head that we should have been here,” Barnett said. “We’ve always been trying to get that back and get back to that point we missed out on.”

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March Madness 2023: Princeton shocks Arizona, No. 15 upsets a No. 2 for 11th time in NCAA Tournament history

March Madness 2023: Princeton shocks Arizona, No. 15 upsets a No. 2 for 11th time in NCAA Tournament history

Princeton pulled an NCAA Tournament stunner on Thursday, when the No. 15 seed Tigers upset No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 in the first round. It marks the third straight NCAA Tournament in which a No. 15 seed has upset a No. 2 seed after Saint Peter’s beat Kentucky in 2022 and Oral Roberts beat Ohio State in 2021 and the 11th time in tournament history.

Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa had a chance to tie the game with five seconds left on a 3-point look from the left wing, but it bounced off, which allowed the Tigers to clinch the game at the free-throw line.

Tosan Evbuomwan led Princeton with 15 points. Azuolas Tubelis led Arizona with 22 points, and Oumar Ballo contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds. However, the Wildcats were outscored 11-2 in second-chance points. With the loss, Arizona is now 6-2 all-time as a No. 2 seed in first-round games and the only program to lose twice against a No. 15 seed in the first-round.

It marks the Tigers’ first NCAA Tournament win since 1998, when coach Mitch Henderson, 47, was a player on the team. With the win, the Ivy League champions advance to play No. 7 seed Missouri in the second round on Saturday. Arizona opened up a 31-22 edge late in the first half before Princeton closed the half on an 8-0 run. Then, in the second half, the Wildcats led 47-35 with just under 12 minutes to play before Princeton rallied again.  

No. 15s over No. 2s

After Princeton’s victory vs. Arizona, No. 2 seeds are 11-139 vs. No. 15 seeds all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

Year Result Score
1991 Richmond def. Syracuse 73-69
1993 Santa Clara def. Arizona 64-61
1997 Coppin State def. South Carolina 78-65
2001 Hampton def. Iowa State 58-57
2012 Lehigh def. Duke 75-70
2012 Norfolk State def. Missouri 86-84
2013 Florida Gulf Coast def. Georgetown 78-68
2016 Middle Tennessee def. Michigan State 90-81
2021 Oral Roberts def. Ohio State 75-72
2022 Saint Peter’s def. Kentucky 85-79
2023 Princeton def. Arizona 59-55

No flukes

If you’re perusing the box score for some flukey explanation of how Princeton won, good luck. The Tigers made only 4 of 25 attempts from 3-point range and shot just five free throws. Evbuomwan led Princeton with just 15 points, and it’s not as though Arizona had a star player out due to injury or foul trouble.

Princeton matched Arizona in every facet and won this game with its defense, limiting one of the nation’s most high-powered offenses to a season-low with 55 points. Arizona’s final tally of three made 3-pointers also marked a season-low as the Wildcats went 0 for 6 from deep in the second half.

The Tigers entered as a respectable No. 137 in KenPom.com‘s defensive efficiency metric but were by no means regarded as a defensive juggernaut. But they stepped up on the big stage against a team that entered ranked No. 4 in offensive efficiency. 

Arizona’s defining trait

Arizona exceeded expectations for much of the season after losing three players who were selected in the 2022 NBA Draft from last season’s Sweet 16 squad. But the fatal trait of these Wildcats was how prone they were to upsets.

Well before Princeton ever appeared on the screen next to Arizona’s name on Selection Sunday, the Wildcats lost some head-scratchers. First came a 15-point loss at Utah on Dec. 1. While road losses against mediocre conference opponents are likely to happen over the course of a long season, the margin of defeat stood out for a team coming off a Maui Invitational title.

Similarly, a 13-point loss at home to Washington State and a 19-point loss at Oregon in January offered confounding representations of Arizona’s ability to alternate between excellent and surprisingly poor levels of play. An 88-79 road loss against Stanford on Feb. 11 was another example.

The Wildcats won two of three against UCLA, knocked off Tennessee and won 19 games by double-digit margins this season. But their bad games were really bad, and their poorest version made an untimely appearance on Thursday to mark a disappointing end to an otherwise solid beginning to second-year coach Tommy Lloyd’s tenure.

NCAA Tournament 2023 bracket: Computer simulation shares surprising upsets, March Madness picks, and sleepers

NCAA Tournament 2023 bracket: Computer simulation shares surprising upsets, March Madness picks, and sleepers

Winning back-to-back titles in college basketball is a difficult task. The Kansas Jayhawks can become the first team to repeat since the Florida Gators (2006-07) when they take the court as a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket. The Jayhawks, however, have a challenging draw in the West Region, with No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 4 UConn all capable of making a deep run in the 2023 March Madness bracket. Plus, recent history indicates Kansas could be in for a letdown at the NCAA Tournament 2023.

In four of the last five NCAA Tournaments, the defending champion has been eliminated in the first or second round. Will Kansas rewrite the history books and cut down the nets in Houston at the end of the NCAA bracket 2023, or will the Jayhawks have an early exit from the March Madness bracket 2023? Before you make your 2023 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulated the entire 2023 NCAA Tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks, beating over 92{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of all CBS Sports brackets two of the last four tournaments. The model also nailed three teams in the West and South Region Sweet 16 last year, including No. 5 seed Houston.

It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 18 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. It also nailed some massive upsets two years ago, including predicting the championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor and hitting Houston’s Midwest Region win even though the Cougars weren’t the No. 1 seed.

Now, SportsLine’s advanced computer model has simulated the entire NCAA Tournament 10,000 times to come up with the perfect 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket and find out which teams will pull off the biggest upsets. You shouldn’t even think about making a pick without seeing what their model has to say.

Top 2023 March Madness bracket upset picks

Another team to back in your 2023 NCAA Tournament picks: The 10th-seeded USC Trojans, who are projected to defeat No. 7 Michigan State in the first round of the East Region. USC is making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament under coach Andy Enfield. The Trojans are disciplined on defense, allowing opponents to make just 39.0{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of their field goal attempts, which ranks seventh in the nation. Offensively, Boogie Ellis leads the way for USC, averaging 18.0 points per game. The Spartans, meanwhile, are limping into the 2023 NCAA Tournament, posting a 7-8 record over their last 15 games.

Another surprise from the East Region: No. 5 Duke fails to reach the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils are making their 26th appearance in the last 27 NCAA Tournaments. However, Duke has been inconsistent this season and the Blue Devils rely too heavily on the production of Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach, the only two players averaging double-digit points per game. Duke also struggles from three-point range, knocking down just 32.9{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} of shots from long-range, which ranks 245th in college basketball. Duke’s poor shooting from the perimeter is one of the main reasons why SportsLine’s model is expecting the Blue Devils to have an early exit from the NCAA Tournament 2023. See which other 2023 March Madness matchups to target here.

How to make 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions

Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it’s calling this year before locking in any 2023 NCAA bracket picks.

So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2023 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s called 18 upsets by double-digit seeds.

Forget March Madness, NCAA is ruining college sports in a nightmarish way

Forget March Madness, NCAA is ruining college sports in a nightmarish way

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In 2021, the Countrywide Collegiate Athletic Affiliation (NCAA) built a lot more than $1.14 billion in revenues, about 87{515baef3fee8ea94d67a98a2b336e0215adf67d225b0e21a4f5c9b13e8fbd502} arrived from March Madness, largely from broadcast rights.  

No question faculty sports is massive company.   

Adult males convey in the money. So, it is no surprise the NCAA has doubled down on discriminating from feminine athletes by prioritizing males to contend in their sports.  

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Feminine athletes are below attack by an insidious form of intercourse discrimination driven by identity politics and condoned by the bulk of campus administrators and athletic departments unwilling to stand up for the legal rights of their individual feminine champions. They want the trophies and the pounds that occur with it. 

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas swims in the 500 Freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia.

College of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas swims in the 500 Freestyle finals for the duration of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Middle in Atlanta Georgia. (Abundant von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire through Getty Visuals)

Very last year, Americans had been awakened to the serious March insanity when 6’1″ trans-determining male swimmer Lia Thomas ran away with a countrywide title in women’s swimming. What has the NCAA done to reckon with this blatant injustice that despatched a shock wave by the sporting globe?  

Unless incoming President Charlie Baker, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, will make major modifications, the response is almost nothing except double down on its “transgender inclusive” agenda though distancing itself from any accountability.   

Slick new files dispersed by the NCAA force this agenda on all member colleges, even further denying security, privacy and equivalent protection for woman school athletes. 

These new tips peddle vogue corporate trainings that deny standard info about human biology and physiology. They proceed the exact tone-deaf denial of how trans policies are impacting the psychological and psychological overall health of feminine athletes, including Thomas’ University of Pennsylvania woman teammates, who are instructed to sit down and shut up though compelled to gown in entrance of a male in the locker space.   

In undertaking so the NCAA doubles down on stripping woman athletes of their id and equal legal rights under Title IX. Under no circumstances brain that forcing female athletes to forgo the basic safety and privacy of women’s locker rooms with organic males is a form of sexual and emotional abuse – in violation of Title IX.  

The NCAA’s glitzy new Range, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Critique Framework imposes an ideological agenda through faculty athletic packages. It seeks to do President Joe Biden’s bidding in his quest to reclassify sex underneath Title IX as a matter of id, not organic actuality.   

Coaches treatment about winning, so underneath this new framework, recruiting organic adult males to be in women’s sports will be an benefit. Why not “participate in by the principles” and recruit males pinpointing as gals?    

That will be the craze if we don’t have additional courageous leaders at universities stand up for their feminine athletes. These elite college or university women of all ages athletes have experienced their complete lives, experienced their dad and mom push them to follow before dawn, and attend all their events only to watch a male steal their trophy or acquire their scholarship?  

President Joe Biden has pushed to reclassify sex under Title IX as a matter of identity, not biological reality.

President Joe Biden has pushed to reclassify sexual intercourse less than Title IX as a matter of identity, not organic truth. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst )

Concerned Women of all ages for The us submitted a civil legal rights grievance towards the University of Pennsylvania, and joined the Unbiased Council on Women’s Athletics, woman athletes, and other women’s legal rights teams at a rally outdoors NCAA’s yearly assembly to petition them to quit discriminating versus ladies.   

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Our rally recounted the NCAA’s shameful heritage of allowing for males to displace women of all ages in their have sports activities:   

  • Exalting males in women’s athletics at the cost of feminine athletes
  • Discriminating towards women in favor of males who declare our identity
  • And denying the truth of the matter of what a girl is by exploiting and excluding girls in our possess sports activities and forcing us to settle for naked male bodies in our possess locker rooms.

Outgoing NCAA president Mark Emmert bears obligation for the trans-privileged insurance policies denigrating women’s sporting activities and discriminating versus women. Current NCAA Board of Governors’ Chair Linda Livingstone, the President of Baylor University, has adopted the organization line and refused to fulfill with women’s corporations and female athletes dealing with this discrimination.    

 The NCAA’s glitzy new Diversity, Fairness and Inclusion (DEI) Critique Framework imposes an ideological agenda through college athletic plans. It seeks to do President Joe Biden’s bidding in his quest to reclassify sex less than Title IX as a subject of identity, not organic fact.   

University of Kentucky winner swimmer Riley Gaines, who was informed that she couldn’t stand on the winner’s podium final 12 months simply because Thomas will have to keep the trophy and seem in the images, encountered Emmert soon after the rally. As she retells the scene, Emmert claimed “he agreed with us” about girls facing inequity in their very own sporting activities.  

Really don’t insult us.  

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The NCAA may possibly pride itself on pushing an agenda that strips sexual intercourse from its insurance policies and encourages gender-bending pronoun use as some kind of enlightenment. But this is far more than institutional elitism – it is evidence that its latest leadership has no intention of loosening its grip on a trans-inclusive agenda that sidelines school girls from athletics and forces female athletes to reduce their legal rights and their dignity at the industry property door.    

Following a dozen decades of the NCAA pushing this destructive and malicious trans-inclusive agenda, it’s time for Charlie Baker to lead adjust by recognizing the dignity of women of all ages and specially female athletes.   

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March Madness 2023: Houston leads contenders, Tennessee among pretenders for NCAA Tournament

March Madness 2023: Houston leads contenders, Tennessee among pretenders for NCAA Tournament

There are 363 Division I teams in college basketball. Only 68 of them will get into the NCAA Tournament field this year. And only a fraction of those 68, if I’m being truthful, are legitimate contenders fit to wear the crown.

So who are they?

By my count, only seven teams have the goods to be the last team standing on the first Monday night of April in Houston. They are (no surprise) called “contenders.” Just below them is another bucket of good — but not great — teams called “pretenders.” These are teams that can make a run in March but don’t quite have the goods to win it all. I am sorry in advance if your team falls into that category and your feelings are hurt. The truth isn’t always stuffed with empathy.

Let’s start with the contenders and work our way down to the pretenders. In the contenders column, I’ll rank each team from most to least likely to win the title – led, of course, by my current pick to win it all — along with accompanying title odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

Contenders

1. Houston

Odds to win title: +700

The only team in America with a top-10 offense and top-10 defense in adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom metrics. Houston has a healthy balance on both ends and plays a physical, disciplined style that grinds teams down throughout the game. The Cougars have a superstar vet in Marcus Sasser, a one-and-doner in Jarace Walker and experience littered throughout the roster. 

2. Purdue

Odds to win title: +1000

A No. 1 seed has won the championship 24 of the last 37 tournaments since the NCAA Tournament’s bracket expansion in 1985. That’s a bright green flashing GO sign for Purdue, the likeliest No. 1 overall seed at this juncture. Historical data aside, this Boilermakers team is exactly the type of team that can win in March, too. Zach Edey — the frontrunner for Player of the Year who stands at a towering 7-foot-4 — is a nightmare matchup. Matt Painter, perennially underrated, may be the best coach in college basketball this year. And the supporting cast of characters fits perfectly around Edey with Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith, Mason Gillis blending smarts, length and depth.

3. Arizona

Odds to win title: +1000

The Wildcats have tightened up their defense lately, boasting the top-rated unit at BartTorvik.com since giving up 87 points to Oregon on Jan. 14 — its last loss. They also rank No. 1 across the metrics spectrum at the site overall. This team took some time to find itself, but boy it has found itself an identity behind the lethal quartet of Azuolas Tubelis, Oumar Ballo, Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey. Tubelis is playing like a top-three player in college basketball and raising this team’s postseason ceiling.

4. UCLA

Odds to win title: +1200

Coach Mick Cronin knows defense, and this UCLA team has embraced its identity on that side of the ball with one of the most fearsome units in college basketball. The roster is good enough to win big in March thanks to elite guard play from Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and Jaylen Clark, plus an emerging freshmen duo of Amari Bailey and Adem Bona.

5. Alabama

Odds to win title: +1200

Nate Oats’ Alabama team has a rep for being explosive and devastating on offense — which is true of this year’s team — but its ability to lean into its defense is what makes it truly dangerous. It’s no one-trick pony. The Crimson Tide play with the quickest tempo in college hoops. They can bury you on offense with star freshman Brandon Miller and get after you on defense with top-two marks in 2-point defense and 3-point defense in percentage allowed. 

6. Kansas

Odds to win title: +1600

Whatever Kansas stock was sold after the Jayhawks lost four in six outings during conference play, I’m willing to buy. This team still has the goods to defend its national championship. Dajuan Harris has improved, providing a floor for two talented shot-makers next to him in Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson. The Jayhawks lack size, but they’re bringing along 6-foot-11 freshman Ernest Udeh Jr. to be a nice complementary piece to small-ball do-it-all weapon KJ Adams in the frontcourt. 

7. Texas

Odds to win title: +2500

It was between Texas and Baylor for this seventh and final spot, but I gave the Longhorns the nod here. Sir’Jabari Rice is playing like a star and Marcus Carr is a microwave scorer who can heat up any night. The depth of Timmy Allen, Tyrese Hunter and Christian Bishop is a luxury few teams have in their back pockets — not to mention five-star freshman Dillon Mitchell, who has shown flashes and is probably the most talented X-factor in America. This team has won four times on the road in Big 12 play — the toughest conference in the sport — and remained a contender even with internal turmoil following Chris Beard’s in-season firing. It is resilient, not just frontrunners. 

Pretenders

1. Tennessee

Odds to win title: +1200

Tennessee has the fourth-best odds to win the national championship, but … yeah … I’m not buying at that price. The Volunteers have an elite defense, sure, but their offense is shaky at best. That’s cost them in two of their last three losses against unranked SEC foes Florida and Vanderbilt. The Vols have also scored fewer than 60 points twice in the last three games. This is a team that can be great in the regular season but — much like its head coach — seems destined to fall short of expectations in the postseason.

2. UConn

Odds to win title: +1800

It pains me as a UConn truther to say it, but the Huskies might be pretenders. The 14-0 start to the season was fabulous, and the 15-point home win over Marquette this week was euphoria wrapped inside some early-season nostalgia. However, what we saw to open the 2023 calendar year — the Hukies lost five of their first seven games — was alarming. If this team gets its act together and starts rounding into form again, I’ll happily jump back onto the UConn wagon. For now, I’m regretfully hedging my Huskies bets. 

3. Creighton

Odds to win title: +4000

Another team that I love but have to fade. Creighton’s won seven in a row after some fits and starts in December thanks to the return of Ryan Kalkbrenner, but this team fits the very definition of a good-not-great team. If the bracket breaks right, I’ll pick it to make it to the second weekend, but beyond that I’m not sold it has the goods to really challenge for a national title. 

4. Gonzaga

Odds to win title: +1800

No team has more NCAA Tournament wins over the last decade than Gonzaga, so I’ll acknowledge that factoid right off the top and admit that I am very much a Zags truther. Unfortunately, this is an easy fade. Gonzaga has two elite talents in Julian Strawther and Drew Timme, but its guard play this season has been well beneath recent standards for the program. 

5. Virginia

Odds to win title: +4000

It’s become fashionable to fade Virginia in March even after it won the whole thing in 2019 in part because its offense has not quite been good enough to complement its defense. This season, its offense statistically is the best it has had since it won the title. Defensively, however, this team is worse at defending the 3 than any team since the title team under coach Tony Bennett. On top of that, the Cavaliers don’t have enough size or play with enough physicality to overcome their shortcomings. A matchup against a team that’s good at defending at the rim or dominant on the glass — or both — will likely be what sends UVa packing. My guess is that it winds up being earlier than most people will predict in their brackets.

Women’s advocacy group hand-delivers demand letter to NCAA ‘to keep women’s collegiate sports female’

Women’s advocacy group hand-delivers demand letter to NCAA ‘to keep women’s collegiate sports female’

On Thursday, a group of present and former woman athletes shipped a demand from customers letter to the NCAA calling to stop the practice of letting organic male athletes to compete on feminine teams. 

A petition and need letter was hand-delivered by former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines to the NCAA, demanding it “take direct and instant action to build rules to maintain women’s collegiate athletics female.”

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during a rally on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, outside of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio. 

Previous College of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks through a rally on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, exterior of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio. 
(AP Image/Darren Abate)

“In the environment of school sports, it is unattainable to supply equivalent alternatives for equally sexes (as essential by Title IX) with no woman-only groups,” the letter reads. “But the NCAA implements and perpetuates a coverage of allowing for male athletes on women’s groups, even as sports governing bodies and federal courts significantly reject these unjust and inequitable procedures that exclude young women from their own teams.”

The demand letter was study outside the NCAA conference in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, threatening authorized action if the NCAA does not “protect feminine athletes from discrimination on the basis of sexual intercourse.”

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“The NCAA simply cannot pick and pick out which rules to abide by,” suggests Marshi Smith, an NCAA Winner and co-founder of ICONS. “They will have to safeguard woman athletes from discrimination on the foundation of sexual intercourse, or expect we will be forced to get authorized measures to compel them to do so.”  

The letter requires that the NCAA “repeal all guidelines and regulations that enable male athletes to consider roster places on women’s teams and/or compete in women’s activities.” 

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia.

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines respond following finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Heart in Atlanta Georgia.
(Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs)

It also calls for guidelines to “maintain women’s sports activities feminine” and for the NCAA to involve colleges to deliver solitary-sexual intercourse locker rooms for female athletes.

Gaines, who competed towards Lia Thomas final yr – the 1st transgender athlete to acquire a nationwide title – also spoke on Thursday, calling for the NCAA to halt discriminating versus feminine athletes.   

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“Today, we intend to individually convey to the NCAA to end discriminating towards woman athletes by handing them a petition that we have garnered almost 10,000 signatures on in just a few of days,” Gaines mentioned Thursday. 

The NCAA updated its transgender participation policy very last January to defer to the direction of each individual sport’s governing body. The NCAA declared that its plan would become powerful in March, commencing with the Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, right, speaks during a rally on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, outside of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio. 

Previous College of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, appropriate, speaks during a rally on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, outside the house of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio. 
(AP Picture/Darren Abate)

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United states Swimming updated its policy shortly following necessitating transgender athletes who are competing at an elite degree to have very low amounts of testosterone — 50 percent of what Thomas was allowed to contend with — for at the very least 36 months before currently being qualified, but the NCAA said weeks later that the Administrative Subcommittee of the Committee on Aggressive Safeguards and Health-related Elements of Sports (CMAS) resolved that it wouldn’t alter its testosterone steerage, stating that “utilizing additional changes at this time could have unfair and likely harmful impacts on educational institutions and pupil-athletes intending to compete in 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships.”

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and the Connected Press contributed to this report.