Montana Grizzlies men's basketball coach Travis DeCuire stayed close to his phone last week. The Grizzlies' seventh-year coach was busy trying to salvage his Division I program's nonconference schedule one week after the NCAA approved a Nov. 25 start date that was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In most years, the 49-year-old DeCuire would be asking opposing coaches and administrators the typical questions about the potential nonconference matchups that anchor his schedule. How much are you willing to pay? Commercial or chartered flight? How many hotel rooms for the program?
The pandemic has changed those conversations, and DeCuire's exchanges last week had a different tone.