NCAA, Big 12 bar fans from hoops tournaments because of growing coronavirus concerns
In an extraordinary response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the doors are closed to fans for the NCAA Tournament, organization president Mark Emmert announced Wednesday.
The Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City is following suit, barring spectators from attending games in Kansas City starting Thursday, though fans were allowed to attend Wednesday night’s men’s games at Sprint Center.
“The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel. Based on their advice and my discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championships, including the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance,” Emmert said.
It’s the first time in the NCAA basketball tournament’s history that games will be played without spectators, and it makes March Madness the largest sporting event in the United States to be be affected by the virus. On Wednesday night, the NBA announced the rest of its season would be suspended after one of its players, Utah’s Rudy Gobert, tested positive for the virus.
Minutes before Emmert’s announcement, the NCAA released a statement that said “... we recommend against sporting events open to the public. We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance, and this protects our players, employees, and fans.”
The Big 12 Conference did admit fans to Wednesday night’s two men’s games at Sprint Center, one of which included Kansas State playing TCU. Kansas plays the winner of Wednesday’s Iowa State-Oklahoma State game Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The Big 12 women’s tournament at Municipal Auditorium starts Thursday.
Restaurants and bars in the Power & Light District will remain open and show the games on televisions but pep rallies and stage activities at the KC Live Block have been canceled.
Also canceled is the Big 12 Run scheduled for Saturday, the KC Sports Commission announced.
The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday that its men’s basketball tournament games would continue as scheduled that night, but the SEC will restrict fans in a similar fashion starting Thursday in Nashville. Missouri’s first game, against Texas A&M is Thursday.
The NCAA decision was announced while Kansas players practiced Wednesday at Sprint Center in advance of the Jayhawks’ Big 12 quarterfinal game.
“It sucks. But it doesn’t just stink for us,” KU coach Bill Self said of what he told his team, referring to fans missing out on seeing March Madness games in person.
“The positive that will come out is it will reduce the risk of spreading and coming in contact with the virus.”
“Having fans and supporters around is a great feeling,” KU sophomore David McCormack said, “but this situation is bigger than basketball.”
Baylor coach Scott Drew said the absence of spectators will be felt during the NCAA Tournament games.
“If you’re blessed to play in March Madness, a lot of that experience, obviously, is the fans, hoopla and excitement going into the games,” Drew said. “I feel bad that some people won’t have an opportunity to experience that, knowing just how special that experience is.”
“It’s definitely shocking just to hear this,” Baylor senior guard Devonte Bandoo said of the NCAA’s decision.
The 68-team men’s NCAA Tournament starts next Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. The men’s Final Four is set for Atlanta on April 4 and 6.
Men’s first- and second-round sites are Omaha, Nebraska; St. Louis, Albany, New York; Spokane, Washington; Tampa, Florida; Cleveland; and Greensboro, North Carolina.
The regional final sites are in New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Indianapolis.
Fans who ordered tickets from an official NCAA Championship vendor online or over the phone will be refunded within 30 business days. No additional action is needed, according to the NCAA.
Emmert, according to an Associated Press reporter, said the NCAA is looking to move the Final Four out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium into a smaller venue in Atlanta. Regional sites could also be moved.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches has canceled its annual convention, which is held in conjunction with the Final Four.
First- and second-round sites for the women’s tournament are played at campus sites, with the regionals set for Dallas; Greenville, South Carolina; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Portland, Oregon. The women’s Final Four is slated for April 3 and 5 in New Orleans.
Last year, 659,594 attended the Division I NCAA men’s tournament, including 72,062 for the championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Locally, Northwest Missouri State and Central Missouri, which are hosts to NCAA Division II men’s and women’s basketball regionals this weekend, have suspended ticket sales, the schools announced.
Other sports leagues also made changes because of the virus Wednesday.
The Mid-American Conference men’s and women’s tournaments in Cleveland opened Wednesday without fans. Only teams, credentialed school personnel, players’ family members, credentialed media and TV and radio crews were allowed inside.
The Big West Tournament at Long Beach State University in California also opened Wednesday without spectators. The event moves to the Honda Center in Anaheim with the same restrictions.
The Seattle Mariners are working with the MLB office on alternative plans for its first two home series of the baseball season after Washington governor Jay Inslee prohibited gatherings of more than 250 people in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 3:47 PM with the headline "NCAA, Big 12 bar fans from hoops tournaments because of growing coronavirus concerns."