By Wayne Dupree | March 11, 2020
For the first time in my lifetime, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament will not have arenas filled with fans. According to the report, only essential staff and limited family will be allowed to attend.
On Wednesday, Mark Emmert, NCAA president announced both NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be closed to fans out of concern over the coronavirus.
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As of Wednesday, there have been 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the United States leading to 31 deaths, per CNN.com.
The decision comes after the NCAA advisory panel announced it has recommended against keeping sporting events open to the public as a precaution to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“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 panel’s statement added.
The advisory panel was established earlier this month, consisting of NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline as well as several other doctors and athlete liaisons. [BleacherReport]
The Ivy League had already canceled its men’s postseason basketball tournament earlier this week, which is different from the NCAA March Madness tournament. Harvard, the regular-season winner will represent the Ivy League in the NCAA tournament.
NCAA President Mark Emmert statement on limiting attendance at NCAA events: https://t.co/GrPbmZx5N6 pic.twitter.com/PFFh9htixR
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) March 11, 2020
Hours after Ohio banned gatherings of large groups, Emmert released his statement. I’ve never seen this before so a lot of people are scratching their heads!
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This piece originally appeared on WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.
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