The Hardest-Working Paper in America | 
Thursday, April 25, 2024
College Sports News Sports

NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments canceled due to coronavirus

March Madness will not happen this year.

By  Sun-Times staff
   
SHARE NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments canceled due to coronavirus
Virus_Outbreak_College_Basketball.jpg

Dickies Arena sits empty after the NCAA college basketball games in the American Athletic Conference tournament were canceled.

Richard Rodriguez/AP Photo

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have been canceled as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The decision comes a day after it was announced that the games would be played without fans in the stands.

The cancellation of the NCAAs is just the latest in a long run of major sporting events being shut down or postponed. After the NBA announced the suspension of its season Wednesday night, the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and AHL all followed suit Thursday.

The NCAA had previously held out hope that the games could go on without fans in the stands, announcing that new policy Wednesday, but teams and leagues have quickly moved from playing in empty stadiums to bailing on the idea of playing at all in the short-term.

The men’s bracket had been slated to be announced Sunday night before play started next week in Dayton, Ohio. The women’s bracket would’ve been announced Monday.

Here’s the full statement from the NCAA:

Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities.

Next Up In Sports
Minneapolis will host Big Ten basketball tournaments
Cubs move up Wednesday game time vs. Rays due to rain in forecast
Jerry West says HBO’s ‘Winning Time’ is a ‘deliberately false characterization’
Russian, Belarusian players banned from Wimbledon
Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn will enter NBA Draft
High hopes for Heidecke Lake fishing: Prospects look good for the season, despite a brutal opener
The Latest
Top draft prospects stand on stage during the first round of the NFL football draft.
NFL
2024 NFL Draft first-round results: Full list of results for top 32 selections
Here’s where all the year’s top rookies are heading for the upcoming NFL season.
By Sun-Times staff
 
33rd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Arrivals
Music
Mike Pinder, Moody Blues co-founder and keyboardist, dies months after bandmate Denny Laine
Pinder, the last original member of the band, sang and played keyboards, as well as organ, piano and harpsichord. He founded the British band in 1964 with Laine, Ray Thomas, Clint Warwick and Graeme Edge.
By USA Today Network
 
Northwestern students set up a protest camp on Deering Meadow on Thursday morning.
Israel-Hamas War
Northwestern students set up protest encampment, call out university censorship of pro-Palestinian speech
Students linked arms and formed a line against police after Northwestern leaders said the tent encampment violated university policy. By 9 p.m. protest leaders were told by university officials that arrests could begin later in the evening.
By Isabel Funk
 
Mock Draft Football
NFL
J.J. McCarthy, former Nazareth QB, selected by Vikings in 1st round of 2024 NFL Draft
McCarthy, who went to Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park before starring at Michigan, will now play for the Bears’ rivals in Minnesota.
By Patrick Finley
 
CPSBOARDMEETING-042624-10.jpg
Education
Facing budget criticism, CPS officials say changes are 'milestone' to be celebrated
In a surprise, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top ally — the Chicago Teachers Union — was also critical of the district’s lack of transparency and failure to prioritize classroom aides in the budget, even though the union has long supported a shift toward needs-based funding.
By Nader Issa