CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Mid-American Conference has joined other major conferences in cancelling their basketball tournaments.
The decision comes amid growing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic that is starting to sweep the country.
“It is incredibly disappointing in terms of the kids having a chance to compete further because I know this is a pinnacle event and is something they look forward to, but simply from a public health standpoint, this seems the appropriate course of action,” MAC commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher said.
The Big Ten, SEC, Conference USA, Pac-12 and ACC have announced cancellations of their tournaments and more conferences are expected to follow. The NCAA has yet to cancel March Madness as of early Thursday afternoon but multiple conference officals spoke of the fluidity of the situation Thursday.
If the NCAA Tournament is held, top-seeded Akron will represent the MAC.
Wednesday night the NBA suspended their season and two members of the Utah Jazz have tested positive for COVID-19 or the coronavirus.
As major conference tournaments started to be cancelled, the MAC, who originally intended to play without fans attending, decided it was best if they follow suit.
“We've been in communication for well over a week on different actions people were taking,” Steinbrecher said. “Clearly we stepped out early on some procedures we were implementing for our tournament and then today ‑‑ last night and then today unfolded. We're taking temperatures of what was going on around us as well, but at the end of the day it's a decision we have to make.”
The Mid-American Conference has also decided to cancel all competition for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year and suspend all recruiting efforts.
Major League Soccer, the NHL and Major League Baseball have also suspended their seasons.
The Ohio High School Atheltic Association suspended all of its ongoing tournaments, including basketball and hockey, Thursday.
