The Atlantic Coast Conference will continue its storied conference tournament but without the attendance of fans at the Greensboro Coliseum due to the growing concerns of COVID-19.
The ACC joins multiple college basketball conferences that have now announced the decision to prevent fans from attending respective tournaments due to the U.S. pandemic that started in China and has ravaged places like Iran and Italy.
"After consultation with the league’s presidents and athletic directors, it was determined that beginning Thursday, March 12, all games will be played with only essential tournament personnel, limited school administrators and student-athlete guests, broadcast television and credentialed media members present," the ACC said in a statement.
Fear and precautions of the coronavirus continue to grow throughout the sports world with MLB, MLS and NHL. The NBA announced late Wednesday that it is suspending the season indefinitely after a player with the Utah Jazz tested positive for the virus.
The ACC Tournament began on Tuesday, and many fans who were planning on attending all the games until Saturday's championship game had mixed reactions about the news.
The next question is will all fans get their money back?
"I bought mine from somebody else on StubHub," said Greensboro resident Hunter Oakley, who is a UNC fan. "So, will they get their refund and then I get mine?"
The idea of sports being played in empty venues is hard to imagine but will soon be a regularity in the following weeks with many leagues expected to alter their attendance instructions.
“Obviously it's a different feel. It's going to be much different,” Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim said. “Our fans are great on the road, so that's definitely a setback. But we've just got to treat it like another game, the same thing, and we just need to play off our own energy, and it will probably take a little bit to get used to it, but just go out there and treat it like another game.”
With the league's top four teams in Florida State, Virginia, Louisville and Duke not even having a chance to play yet due to byes in the first two rounds, some fans who traveled won't even have a chance to see their team play.
"There's a lot of fear around it and I don't think we should be negligent about what we should do but it's definitely not fun," said Matt, a local fan of N.C. State, who lives in Greensboro. "Both of our teams won and we were looking forward to it. We'll be able to watch it from home, but it's definitely not the same thing."
Some fans from out of state also understood the ruling by the league.
"It's disappointing, but we're understanding why they're doing it," said Beth, who is a fan of Virginia and lives in Charlottesville, Va. "It's disappointing from our standpoint because we haven't even seen our team yet. We'll be watching it on TV, I guess."
The Virginia fan said she has empathy for other fans and the participants, themselves.
"I feel sorry for the kids and the guys playing," Beth added. "This is a big stage for them. Especially when they get to the NCAA Tournament and it's going to be kind of sad with just your family and parents rooting for you."
Other fans weren't so understanding of the situation.
"It seems like an overreaction," Scott Miller, a fan of UNC that lives in Virginia, said. "It kills the local economy. Everyone is working here. Now they don't have anything to do in the next two days. It's a sad time."