Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments Ban Fans For This Season

If you’ve watched the news at least over the last few weeks, the biggest story nationally and around the world is the coronavirus. The infectious disease that reportedly began in China has now spread worldwide and into the United States. It’s been a tough thing to watch and has certainly put some concern into everyone in this country.

And in an effort to assist in containing the spread of the disease, the Big Ten and NCAA announced that fans would be banned from their respective postseason tournaments. These were certainly tough decisions, but everyone hopes they will aid in stopping what has become a worldwide pandemic.

Here’s what the organizations had to say:

“The Big Ten Conference announced this evening that beginning Thursday, March 12, 2020, attendance at all Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament games will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

Additionally, all further Big Ten Conference winter and spring sport competitions, including championship/tournament events, will also be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all relevant information on the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis.”