NCAA cancels March Madness over coronavirus health threat

The NCAA canceled the March Madness tournament because of increasing concern about the spread of the coronavirus.

“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,” an NCAA statement said on Thursday.

The statement noted that the decision was 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.”

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In the lead-up to the decision, nearly every conference in college basketball decided not to play their end-of-season conference tournaments. Kansas University, the top team in college basketball according to the weekly Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll, and Duke University withdrew from the March Madness tournament before it was scrapped.

The NCAA joined the NBA, NHL, and MLS, which have all suspended their seasons, while MLB announced its season would start at least two weeks late.

Before the decision to cancel the tournament, Emmert announced Wednesday that only essential personnel would be allowed into the arenas. The tournament had been scheduled to start on Tuesday.

While no collegiate athlete is known to have tested positive for coronavirus to date, the illness has infected more than 1,300 people in the United States and has led to approximately three dozen deaths.

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