KU’s first two men’s basketball home games to be held without fans in Allen Fieldhouse
No fans will be allowed in Allen Fieldhouse for Kansas’ Dec. 3 men’s basketball game against Washburn and Dec. 5 contest versus North Dakota State, KU Chancellor Douglas Girod announced Monday.
Last week, Girod declared that KU would not host fans at Kansas Athletics competitions for the rest of November, “in light of the regional surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.”
Girod said Monday, “for contests after that week (ending Dec. 5), we will make decisions about attendance on a week-by-week basis so we can be responsive to the most current circumstances and medical guidance.”
He added that “the decision to not host fans through the first week of December has been made after consultation with our Pandemic Medical Advisory Team and other university leaders. We will continue consulting this group regarding upcoming events and will communicate updates with you as appropriate.
“We know this is disappointing to those of you who planned to be on campus to root for the Jayhawks in early December. While we are not aware of any incidents of COVID-19 transmission at any home athletics competitions, the recent spike in cases and hospitalizations across the region makes it unwise to host fans at this time.”
KU’s women’s basketball team will have no fans for games against Northern Colorado (Nov. 25) and Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Nov. 29). The Jayhawks travel to Mississippi on Dec. 3 and have a home game scheduled against Oral Roberts on Dec. 6.
Athletic director Jeff Long said in a message to fans: “As the infection rates for the virus continue to increase in our county and across the state, so does our concern for the health and safety of our community. We will follow the direction of PMAT and university leaders. I will meet with and review their directions on a weekly basis on whether fans should be permitted to attend athletics events. While we want to provide as much notice as possible to fans wishing to attend games, we also want to have fans attend as soon as it is permissible. We believe reassessing on a weekly basis will enable us to determine the best course of action by using the most up-to-date data related to COVID-19.
“Let me thank you in advance for your flexibility and willingness to adjust your plans. Our fans give us an advantage when playing at home, and we want you to be able to support our coaches and student-athletes in person. However, we also want to do our part to keep our fans, our community and our state safe during this pandemic.”
KU basketball coach Bill Self also offered a message to fans on Monday: “As we get ready to tip off our season in a few days on Thanksgiving vs. Gonzaga, I want to thank you in advance for your support this season. While this will be unlike any season we’ve ever seen here at KU, we know you’ll be there each step of the way as you always have been.
“Kansas Basketball brings a lot of individuals together to gather in one place to root for the Jayhawks, but this year must be different. We want you in Allen Fieldhouse this season because the homecourt advantage you provide is second to none. But before we do that, we need all of you to do your part of slowing down the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks, avoid gathering in groups, social distance yourselves and frequently wash your hands. This will help decrease the number of positive cases so we can again have fans at Allen Fieldhouse this season.”
KU earlier had announced that no more than 1,500 fans would be allowed to attend home games during the 2020-21 season.
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 5:42 PM with the headline "KU’s first two men’s basketball home games to be held without fans in Allen Fieldhouse."
