The NCAA confirmed today four of the top officials were among six sent home from the NCAA tournament Monday due to Covid issues. Ted Valentine, John Higgins, Kipp Kissinger and Roger Ayers were among those removed from the tournament.
The referees arrived Sunday night to check into their Indianapolis hotel and were asked by the NCAA to stay there to follow protocols. Upon their arrival, however, their rooms weren’t ready. They were given permission to leave for dinner, and a sliver of the group went to a steakhouse together that caused some of them to be removed by contact tracing. When they returned to the hotel and took COVID-19 tests it was discovered that one of the officials tested positive for the virus.