Sorry, ACC basketball fans. Only a select few will be allowed at this year’s tournaments.
Fans of ACC basketball will have to catch the men’s and women’s tournaments on television or by streaming as the league announced on Thursday that tickets will not be sold to the public.
Attendance will be limited to family and personal guests of team personnel based on the state of North Carolina’s current COVID-19 guidelines. The ACC did note that if the state changes its policies between now and when the women (March 3-7) and men (March 9-13) take the floor at the Greensboro Coliseum, it would take that “under consideration” for admitting fans.
Both tournaments were moved to Greensboro in an attempt to control the environment and make it safer from spreading the virus.
The ACC has had to address rumblings that some teams could consider opting out of the conference tournament as a safeguard to be eligible for the NCAA tournament. The NCAA moved its entire tournament to the state of Indiana with most games being played in Indianapolis. It has mandated that teams must test negative for COVID-19 for seven straight days before arriving in Indiana. That is why coaches, not just in the ACC, but around the nation, have questioned the viability of conference tournaments.
The league released a statement on the matter that said: “Decisions related to conference policies and procedures are made by the league’s membership. Our schools are committed to playing the ACC men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.”
Nearly one year ago at the men’s tournament in Greensboro, the early round games were played as usual before an announcement that the quarterfinals would not have fans. Then, during warmups for the first game that pitted No. 1 seed Florida State against ninth seed Clemson, the decision was made to cancel the rest of the tournament.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Sorry, ACC basketball fans. Only a select few will be allowed at this year’s tournaments.."