While basketball fans are focused on brackets, bubbles and who's hot, it's difficult to escape the fact that the United Nations and U.S. military and political leaders are talking about bombs, drones and which oil fields may be set ablaze.

While talk of war has been in the air for some time, the volume has become louder as basketball tournament time has approached.

Great Britain proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution March 7 that would give Iraq until March 17 to prove it has disarmed itself of weapons of mass destruction.

At press time, the Bush administration was indicating that it may elect to disarm Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by force any time after that March 17 deadline, regardless of any U.N. Security Council vote or lack thereof.

Either way, U.S. troops may enter Iraq in the next 30 days, which also is a virtual countdown to the NCAA's most visible events, the Men's and Women's Final Fours. The opening round of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship is March 18, with the Men's Final Four concluding the tournament April 5 and 7 in New Orleans. The first and second rounds for the Division I Women's Basketball Championship are March 22-25, with the Women's Final Four concluding April 6 and 8 in Atlanta.

Divisions II and III also conduct men's and women's basketball championships in March, though those events might arguably present less logistical issues with fewer fans and a lower national visibility. Depending on the timing of war or related events, other championships that could be affected include fencing, ice hockey, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, and wrestling.

Adding to the tension are reports that followers of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden plan to attack the United States if there is war with Iraq.

If there is a war in the Middle East in the middle of March Madness, what does that mean for NCAA championships?

Planning and preparing

Those who oversee the NCAA's most visible championships are polishing their crystal balls and creating contingency plans for practically everything. They also are understandably circumspect about those plans in an effort to avoid compromising the safety of participants and spectators.

"We're taking some very good plans already in place and expanding them to reflect ongoing thought and circumstance," said Greg Shaheen, managing director of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship. "We have been thinking through numerous reasonable and unreasonable scenarios and how we would respond to them -- who needs to be involved in communications, decision-making and thinking about options.

"Our philosophy is to do everything we can to conduct our championships in the right way at the right time with the right level of preparation."

The NCAA has long had procedures and plans to deal with security, game delays and rescheduling of championships, though there has been an increased focus on preparing for the unknown since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"We looked at our plans in place before 9-11 and asked if there were things we needed to add," Shaheen said. "We actually do more preparation on security, for example, than most people would probably assume. And, we have for some time been meeting with local, state and federal law enforcement.

"But I do think we view this year differently than we have in the past, and that goes for all NCAA championships, not just the Final Fours."

Donna Noonan, vice-president for the Division I Women's Basketball Championship, agreed.

"I think we have the plans in place to respond in an appropriate manner," she said. "We've all been working with our respective championship hosts and other constituents to ensure that all the planning we can do ahead of time is done and that the communications networks are in place to make decisions should something happen. A primary concern always will be the safety of the participants."

Television impact

Since the NCAA first began conducting championships in 1921, few events have threatened either their conduct or their safety. During World War II, the NCAA did not hold its championships in gymnastics from 1943 to 1945, in wrestling from 1943 to 1947, in fencing from 1943 to 1945, and in cross country in 1943.

But the reason for not holding the championships was something not pondered in 2003 -- there were too few participants since so many young men were at war. (At the time of course, the NCAA did not offer championships for women.) Office of Defense Transportation travel restrictions also prevented the NCAA from holding its annual Convention in 1942 and 1943, though committee chairs and the Executive Committee did meet to conduct Association business.

The last time a national calamity and an NCAA championship collided, the game was played. When President Reagan was shot March 30, 1981, the Division I Men's Basketball Championship game between the Indiana University, Bloomington, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was played that evening. Though news reports at the time indicated that President Reagan had asked the game to continue, that scenario now seems unlikely considering the seriousness of his condition, which was not shared with the public at the time.

At any rate, the game went on -- as the games probably will this time. However, they may not be in their originally scheduled time slots on their original channels, particularly if the need exists to broadcast news coverage of war or related events.

CBS owns the rights to broadcast the men's tournament, while ESPN owns the rights to broadcast the women's tournament. CBS, of course, would be more affected by the need to broadcast war coverage.

"One of the great things about CBS is that it is part of the Viacom Company, a multifaceted, multichannel entity," Shaheen said. "They have a network to run, and we have championships to run. Just as with all our partners, we're asking them to think through contingencies."

CBS President Sean McManus said last month that CBS executives were discussing the possibility of switching games from CBS to other Viacom channels. CBS is owned by Viacom, which also owns the cable networks MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon and TNN.

"That's a decision you have to make at the time of the crisis," McManus said in a news conference last month announcing an Internet licensing arrangement with Sportsline.com and the NCAA. "If there is a war going on and there are important news elements to cover, that will take precedence over a sporting event."

ESPN does not have a news division, though it may face other challenges depending on what happens.

"We've been in discussions with ESPN regarding various scenarios and contingencies," said Noonan. "I think we're as prepared as we can be considering the uncertainty of the future."

Flexibility and safety

Shaheen noted that the televising of the games is secondary to the safety of the participants and fans.

"The Final Fours are gatherings of thousands of people," he said. "We want the environment to be not only wholesome but safe for student-athletes, team personnel and fans. Everything we're doing centers on that."

Whatever happens, Shaheen said that the two sites for the finals -- the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans for the Men's Final Four and the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the Women's Final Four -- previously have conducted highly visible, highly secure events. Last year's NFL Super Bowl was played in the Superdome and designated by the government as a National Security Event. The Georgia Dome hosted many events at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"Both of these facilities are operated with security in mind," Shaheen said. "The administrators there have an extraordinary amount of experience in these matters."

Since the 9-11 terrorists attacks, the government has designated certain events -- such as the two Super Bowls conducted since then -- as National Security Events. That designation means the Secret Service is in charge of security, and it also brings with it assistance from federal intelligence agencies and federal law enforcement.

"We haven't requested that the Men's and Women's Final Fours be designated as National Security Events. We could request that designation or the government could decide to designate them as such. It could happen either way," Shaheen said.

Those planning the Final Fours also are prepared for war protesters, should it come to that.

"We've had protest areas set aside at our championships for years. We're not in the business of restricting free speech," Shaheen said. "We want to be sensitive to the emotions involved at times like this."

The NCAA would not penalize a student-athlete who refused to face the flag during the national anthem, for example (a Division III women's basketball player at Manhattanville College has turned her back to the flag before several games this year), nor would the NCAA interfere with those who wished to picket or carry large signs outside.

The Association draws the line, however, at people approaching participants on the floor or fans carrying large signs or banners indoors.

"It becomes an issue if it affects games or game management, because it is our philosophy to protect the participants as well as the integrity of the event. We don't allow anything that could put other patrons at risk," Shaheen said.

And like last year, large bags will not be permitted, nor will coolers or any other item the facility deems a security risk.

In many ways, it's going to be business as usual for as long as possible.

"Our real focus is on getting the games played," Shaheen said. "I think we're contemplating almost everything. Flexibility will be the key."