Six of the most renowned NCAA Tournament officials have been removed from this year’s March Madness after a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracking efforts, sources confirmed to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. Among those sent home are Ted Valentine, John Higgins, Kipp Kissinger and Roger Ayers.
All four employees are in the top 12 in the “employee ranking” of the entire KenPom season.
The referees were instructed to arrive on Sunday night to check into their hotel and were asked by the NCAA to remain there to follow the protocols. When they arrived, however, their rooms were not ready and there was no food. They were allowed to go out to dinner, and part of the group went to a steakhouse in Indianapolis together that caused some of them to be removed by contact tracking. Only later, when they returned to the hotel and did the COVID-19 tests, did they discover that one of the employees tested positive for the virus.
The NCAA implemented strict protocols for players, coaches and staff at this year’s NCAA Tournament, including seats designated for bus travel, to try to avoid contact tracking, eliminating large groups of teams and wreaking havoc on the key. But a positive test for one of the officials who eliminates some of the most respected referees from the sport’s biggest annual event is a difficult pill for the NCAA to swallow, as the week has just begun