NCAA tourneys to require player availability info

Player availability reports will be implemented for this year’s NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments for the first time.

The NCAA said in its announcement Wednesday that financial penalties will be imposed on schools that do not follow the new policy.

Player availability reports have become required in the five major conferences over the past couple of seasons, with the ACC, Big 12 and SEC posting their initial reports the night before a game and the Big East and Big Ten publishing theirs the morning of games.

For this year’s NCAA tournament, teams must submit an initial report to the NCAA by 9 p.m. local time the night before a game and provide an update two hours before the scheduled tip time on game day. There will be three designations: available, questionable or out. Players not listed as questionable (up to a 75% chance of playing) or out are assumed to be available.

A first offense will result in a penalty of up to $10,000; the second offense is up to $25,000; and the third offense is up to $30,000 for the school and $10,000 for the head coach. All penalties will be assessed after the tournaments.

This will be the first time player availability reports will be used for NCAA championships, with the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments serving as a pilot program for potential use in other sports.

HD Intelligence, which several conferences already use, will serve as the player availability reporting service provider.