The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been canceled as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The decision comes a day after it was announced that the games would be played without fans in the stands.
NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships: https://t.co/qzKAS4McEI pic.twitter.com/G6XreZx35E
— NCAA (@NCAA) March 12, 2020
The cancellation of the NCAAs is just the latest in a long run of major sporting events being shut down or postponed. After the NBA announced the suspension of its season Wednesday night, the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and AHL all followed suit Thursday.
The NCAA had previously held out hope that the games could go on without fans in the stands, announcing that new policy Wednesday, but teams and leagues have quickly moved from playing in empty stadiums to bailing on the idea of playing at all in the short-term.
The men’s bracket had been slated to be announced Sunday night before play started next week in Dayton, Ohio. The women’s bracket would’ve been announced Monday.
Here’s the full statement from the NCAA:
Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities.
