Georgetown basketball teams to return to campus and the court

The Georgetown men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams are set to move back into campus housing on Sept. 11, as they begin preparations for the upcoming 2020-21 NCAA Division I basketball season, both players and a university spokesperson confirmed.

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, the starting date for both the men’s and women’s seasons is currently Nov. 10, but this is liable to change. Both oversight committees for men’s and women’s basketball have proposed a starting date of Nov. 25, one day before Thanksgiving, and the Division I Council is expected to vote on officially changing the date on Sept. 16.

Every other Big East school has already returned players to campus, according to a university spokesperson. However, the university relied on its public health advisory group when it came to giving the two teams the option to return.

“The decision to return to campus is at the discretion of each student athlete and all scholarships will be honored regardless of their decision,” the spokesperson wrote.   

According to emails obtained by the Voice, campus apartments in Alumni Square have been reserved for players since the start of the semester. Before the upcoming return was solidified, other students living in those apartments were asked to relocate to alternate housing on campus. 

The spokesperson confirmed that the student-athletes would be following the same protocols as all other students—they will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival and submit a survey each day to ensure they are not feeling symptoms of COVID-19 before they are allowed in any university buildings.

 “We hold our student athletes to the highest standards of behavior,” the spokesperson wrote. 

Campus housing has been a much sought-after commodity leading up to the fall semester, as the university denied the on-campus housing applications of over 350 students who identified themselves as housing insecure or otherwise in need of campus resources. Though additional students were able to obtain housing on an ad-hoc basis leading up to the start of the semester, under 500 students are currently on campus. The two teams combined could add up to 29 residents. 

The university did not explicitly comment on their reasoning behind the decision to bring student-athletes back to campus, as opposed to students who applied for housing due to insecure living situations and were denied. 

“Similar to the University’s decision to bring back members of our community engaged in research, students facing housing insecurity, and some seniors with academic necessity, the return of a small number of student athletes will help inform future decisions to return additional students to campus,” the spokesperson wrote.

Practices will begin following the two-week quarantine. 

Annemarie Cuccia contributed to this report.