NCAA cancels March Madness basketball tournaments because of coronavirus

The NCAA on Thursday canceled all March Madness tournament games as well as winter and spring championship games due to the coronavirus outbreak.



“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,” the announcement on the NCAA’s Twitter account said.

“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities.”

Emmert had announced on Wednesday that the tournament would take place without fans.

Only “essential staff and limited family attendance” were to be allowed for the men’s and women’s tournament games, which were to begin next week, he said.

That all changed on Thursday.

The 2020 NCAA Tournament was scheduled to begin on March 17 in Dayton, Ohio.

The 2020 Final Four was scheduled to be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with the semifinals taking place on April 4 and the national title game on April 6, according to the NCAA.

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 4:37 PM with the headline "NCAA cancels March Madness basketball tournaments because of coronavirus."