THE National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will go virtual when it kicks off its 96th season with new broadcast partner GMA Network on June 13.
NCAA Management Committee Chairman Father Vic Calvo, OP, of host Letran made the announcement on Wednesday, adding there will be no traditional games in basketball, volleyball, athletics and in six other sports on the league’s program.
“Against all odds we ‘Rise Up Stronger,’” Calvo told BusinessMirror stressing on the Season 96 slogan of “Rise Up Stronger.”
“The NCAA has adjusted very well to the ‘new normal’ and we feel blessed,” he said. “It shows our creativity. Never give up. We showed our creativeness.”
Opening day will be preceded by a show at 2:35 p.m. on May 23 over GMA’s GTV Channel 27 featuring athletes, coaches and teams from the league’s 10 member-schools. It will again air on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m.
Taping for the show has started with Calvo taking his turn at the GMA studios in Quezon City on Thursday.
The season will practically carry a made-for-television concept with virtual skills-based competitions in basketball and volleyball, online chess and taekwondo’s poomsae.
Calvo said the safety of the students remain a priority in the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s more on the safety of student athletes,” he said. “That’s why the consensus is to shelve games in the traditional sports.”
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