NCAA tournament will be played without fans

Story by ESPN

The NCAA made the unprecedented decision Wednesday to hold the men's and women's basketball tournaments without fans because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

"The NCAA continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 in consultation with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement. "Based on their advice and my discussions with the NCAA Board of Governors, I have made the decision to conduct our upcoming championship events, including the Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments, with only essential staff and limited family attendance.

"While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States. This decision is in the best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes. We recognize the opportunity to compete in an NCAA national championship is an experience of a lifetime for the students and their families. Today, we will move forward and conduct championships consistent with the current information and will continue to monitor and make adjustments as needed."

The NCAA announcement came after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he would issue an order that would ban fans from NCAA tournament games in Cleveland and First Four games in Dayton.

Sporting events around the world have been affected by the virus. States and cities have banned large gatherings, leading to teams such as the Golden State Warriors to say that they would play in empty arenas.

Many conference tournaments will also be played without fans. The Mid-American Conference closed its men's and women's basketball tournament games at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and scheduled site of the men's NCAA games, to the general public. The women's tournament started Wednesday.

The Big West Conference announced a similar move, not allowing the general public into its basketball tournament games to be played this week at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Conference college basketball tournaments are in full swing across the country this week. The Atlantic Coast Conference is on Day 2 of its five-day men's tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Pac-12 played the first game of its tournament in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Later Wednesday, the Southeastern Conference was to begin its men's tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, the Big East was set to start at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the Big Ten was scheduled to tip off in Indianapolis. There were no plans to restrict fan access to those events.

March Madness hits another level next week with the start of the NCAA tournament to crown a national champion, one of the most popular events on the American sports calendar.

The 68-team men's field is scheduled to be announced Sunday, and the 64-team women's field is set to be unveiled Monday.

There are eight first- and second-round sites for the men's tournament, scheduled to be played March 19-22. Locations include Cleveland; Spokane, Washington; Albany, New York; Sacramento, California; and Omaha, Nebraska. The four regional sites for the second weekend of the tournament are Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Houston and New York. The Final Four is scheduled to be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with the semifinals on April 4 and the championship game April 6.

The women's tournament first- and second-round games begin March 21 and will be played at 16 sites, mostly on or close the campuses of the top-seeded teams. The regionals will be played in Dallas, Greenville, South Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Final Four will be held in New Orleans on April 3 and 5.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.