Conference USA announced Tuesday its official basketball format changes regarding the health and safety of student-athletes for the upcoming 2020 season. 

This season, the league will move to a new 18-game regular season format for conference play.  

In this format, schools will play two games per visit at four select C-USA schools and host four select teams for a two-game series, while playing a rival opponent one time home and away.

This schedule format is aimed to significantly reduce the amount of travel during conference play, with the goal of minimizing the risks associated with COVID-19. Also, the final week of the regular season may be used to reschedule any postponed games.

The championship format will remain as it has been for the past several seasons. The top 12 regular season finishers in conference play will qualify for the championship.

The 2021 C-USA Basketball Championships will be held on March 10-13 in Frisco, Texas for the fourth year.

Regular season C-USA for both men’s and women’s basketball is scheduled to begin on Dec. 31.