NCAA March Madness to Have No Audience and NBA Cancels the Season

The Coronavirus is impacted all wakes of life it seems and this week it’s basketball.

The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced this week that it will play its upcoming men’s and women’s basketball tournaments without any fans in the audience due to the outbreak.

Only team staff and family members will be allowed to attend the games.

“The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel,” NCAA president Mark Emmert stated. “Based on their advice and my discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance.”

“While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States,” the statement continued. “This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes.”

The tournament will start off in Dayton, Ohio, and then move to the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. The West Regional games are scheduled to be played March 26-28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Toyota Center in Houston will host the South Regional contests March 27-29, while East Regional games will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York, also March 27-29.

The Final Four and then championship game will be played April 4-6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The NBA has also announced that a player on the Utah Jazz has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of Wednesday’s schedule of games until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Utah Jazz released a statement: This morning a player on the Utah Jazz tested negative for influenza, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. The individual’s symptoms diminished over the course of today, however, in a precautionary measure, an in consultation and cooperation with NBA medical staff and Oklahoma health officials, the decision was made to test for COVID-19.

A preliminary positive result came back right before tip-off of the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City game. Subsequently, the decision was correctly made by the NBA to postpone that game. When it was determined that the individual would be tested, we immediately informed the league office. The health and safety of our players, our organization, those throughout our league, and all those potentially impacted by this situation are paramount in our discussions.

We are working closely with the CDC, Oklahoma and Utah state officials and the NBA to determine how to best move forward as we gather more information. The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City. In coordination with the NBA and state officials, we will provide updates at the appropriate time.