NCAA to hold tournaments without fans
UPDATE 3:50 p.m. Thursday: The NCAA has announced its cancellation of all remaining winter and spring championships, including the mens and womens basketball tournaments due to growing concerns over the coronavirus.
The cancellation means the No. 17/11 Coyotes womens basketball season is officially over. The Coyotes earned the automatic bid from the Summit League for winning the Championship Tuesday afternoon.
The Coyote softball, track and field and golf teams will also not have the chance to compete in the NCAA Championships for their sports.
Earlier Thursday, the Summit League announced that all Summit League events hosted on a Summit League campus have been canceled until March 30.
The NBA, MLB and NHL have suspended their regular seasons as well. All remaining NCAA basketball conference championships were canceled Thursday.
South Dakota is up to eight confirmed cases of the virus.
PREVIOUS UPDATE:
Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA announced that both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments will be held with only essential staff and limited family in attendance due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
The NCAA’s announcement follows recommendations from public health officials to not hold any events that would include large crowds. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called for sporting events to bar spectators from attending. Dayton and Cleveland are hosting games of the NCAA Men’s tournament.
The Coyotes women’s basketball team is set to play in the NCAA Tournament following a win over South Dakota State in the Summit League championship which earned the automatic bid for the conference. The Coyotes will find out who and where they are playing Monday.
Multiple NCAA conferences are playing their tournaments without fans this week, including the Big West and Mid-Atlantic Conferences.
The College Basketball Invitational, a postseason tournament for college basketball teams who don’t have the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament or the NIT tournament, announced they will not play the tournament this season over concerns of the virus.
Other cities, states, teams and leagues are contemplating holding games without fans or banning fans from attending games. The Golden State Warriors announced Wednesday morning that their home basketball games will be held without fans.
The Seattle Mariners will not play home games in the month of March to try and prevent the spread of the virus. The NBA is considering playing games without fans for the foreseeable future.
As things stand, the Coyotes will still play in the NCAA tournament. With five cases of the coronavirus reported in South Dakota and five in Nebraska, both states have announced plans for their state basketball tournaments.
After a Crofton, Nebraska high school student tested positive for the virus and attended the State girls tournament last weekend, the Nebraska State Activities Association announced they will host the boys tournament this weekend with only immediate family members allowed to attend.
The South Dakota High School Activities Association announced Wednesday that the state tournaments over the next two weekends will go on as planned.
The Volante will continue to update this story as any other information becomes available.
