The UAAP Season 84 is set to kick off on March 26 after almost two years since the sudden cancellation of the 82nd season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement was made during a press conference attended by UAAP officers Atty. Rebo Saguisag, UAAP Executive Director, and Season 84 President Emmanuel Calanog of university host De La Salle University at the Hai Chix & Steaks Restaurant in Pasig City Friday, Feb. 23.
"We're preparing for this upcoming season. Hopefully, you will be able to watch your favorite universities and players play particularly to our partner Cignal TV and Smart," said Calanog.
"They will be able to bring the UAAP to your very rooms and to your phones and whatever gadgets you have with the same amount of intensity even if you are not in the venue live, but you are still watching as if you were there."
Season 84 will hold nine events namely men's basketball, women's volleyball, cheerdance, men's and women's 3x3 basketball, men's beach volleyball, poomsae, and men's and women's chess.
Calanog hopes to bring in a special pre-recorded, post-production ceremony for the opening followed by a set of games.
Target venues would be usual UAAP sites such as the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, and FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Games, as far as basketball is concerned, will be played thrice a week with target days of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday under a bubble setup.
At least for the first round of the tournament, Calanog said the UAAP will be holding a "strict" bubble setup to provide a smooth opener for the season.
From that point, the presence of spectators and media coverage have yet to be determined depending on the trend of positive cases in Metro Manila.
Saguisag, for his part, assured that students are fully vaccinated since its bubble training began last November.
In the event that players test positive for COVID-19, Saguisag said contingency plans will be laid, adding that "the last thing you need is a reset."
If at least one or two individuals tested positive for COVID-19, or if a false positive yielded afterwards, games will still resume as long teams satisfy the least amount of players needed to hold a match or game.
To provide safety net for athletes, coaches, delegates, an RT-PCR test will be required every 14 days while antigen tests will be conducted every day.
Meanwhile, despite the limited number of sports, the UAAP Board opted to crown a general championship while October marks the target month for Season 85.