Antelope Valley College no longer exists, but its men’s and women’s basketball teams are going to finish their seasons anyway. The Marauders will compete in the NAIA tournament as the teams without a school.
Men’s head coach Jordan Mast raised $40,000 for the two programs to keep playing. His team will will play Huntington (Indiana) in the first round in Glendale, Az. on March 15. The women’s team will play Southern Oregon in Ashland, Ore. on that same day.
They will not be able to return to campus once they lose. It is no longer in operation.
A government order to “cease operation of all degree programs” required Antelope Valley College to shut down by a Friday deadline due to financial mismanagement. Students were kicked out of the dorms before the semester’s end. Professors and staffers are without a job.
The private school located in Lancaster, Calif. is gone just like that.
Mast knew that something was up when he and his staff received only 25% of their normal paychecks last month. They, along with other coaches at Antelope Valley, were then informed that their programs’ seasons would be canceled because of the closure. Both basketball teams were told that they were not allowed to participate in the NAIA tournament.
Fortunately, Mast that he was able to work out a deal with school officials to keep playing if he could raise enough funds. His GoFundMe went viral and hit its goal of $40K in 72 hours!
He told ESPN that his players see basketball as a sense of normalcy during all of the chaos.
Unlike most teams this year who might be happy or upset with their seeding or matchup, we are feeling beyond blessed that we even get to compete. The players have been through a lot as our school has officially announced it is closing [Friday]. They have still not communicated to any of us or the students what their plans are for helping students find a new school, or housing or finish their degree. The burden has fallen on the students, their families, our staff, and others in the community that care about the well-being of these young men and women.
— Jordan Mast, via ESPN
The women’s team is a 13-seed. The men’s team is a 6-seed.
Regardless of what happens in the NAIA tournament, the athletes are grateful for the opportunity to keep playing. Wouldn’t it be special if the college basketball teams without a school made a Cinderella run?!