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Report: 6 top NCAA officials ruled out for March Madness due to COVID-19 contact tracing
Published:
The NCAA’s officiating pool will be shorthanded in Indianapolis over the next few weeks, according to a report.
That’s per Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, who says six key NCAA basketball officials have been ruled out from working the tournament due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
Those officials are John Higgins, Ted Valentine, Roger Ayers, John Gaffney, Kipp Kissinger and Ray Natili, per the report.
According to Goodman, those six officials had dinner in downtown Indianapolis on Sunday after their hotel rooms were not ready for check-in. One of the officials has since tested positive for COVID-19.
The Indiana Department of Health made the call on declaring the officials unable to work the event, per the report.
Higgins, Valentine and Ayers have each worked multiple Final Fours and are amongst the most experienced officials the NCAA has.
The NCAA Tournament begins on Friday. Virginia Tech and Florida will play in the opening game at 12:15 p.m. ET.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.