Virus 1, Ivy League 0
Conference tourneys wiped out
The Ivy League on Tuesday canceled its upcoming men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, scuttling the Boston event as the coronavirus scare begins to wrap its tentacles around American sporting events.
Yale, winner of the men’s regular-season title, punched an automatic ticket to The Big Dance with the news. Princeton won the women’s regularseason championship and will also go the NCAA Tournament.
The twin two-game tournaments were scheduled to take place this weekend at Lavietes Pavilion, on the campus of Harvard University. The staid athletic league, which added the conference tournament three years ago, became the first Division I conference to call off its basketball tournament.
“We understand and share the disappointment with student-athletes, coaches and fans who will not be able to participate in these tournaments,” Ivy League executive director Robin Harris said in a news release. “Regrettably, the information and recommendations presented to us from public health authorities and medical professionals have convinced us that this is the most prudent decision.”
Tickets will be refunded, according to the conference.
On Tuesday, Harvard also asked its students not to return to campus after spring break and announced that classes will be moved online beginning March 23.
Forty-one coronavirus cases had been reported in Massachusetts as of Monday, according to the state’s department of public health.
Mark Emmert, the president of the NCAA, said Tuesday that the organization is leaving conference tournament decisions in the hands of individual leagues.
Conference tournaments have been going on all over the country since last week at venues big and small. Most of the biggest conferences such as the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference begin their men’s tournaments this week at large arenas in major cities.
The NCAA men’s and women’s Division I tournaments begin next week. The NCAA has said it plans to play its games at the planned sites as scheduled with no adjustments to fan access but is monitoring the situation.
The Ivy League also announced Tuesday it will limit spectators at all other sporting events for the rest of the spring season.
The men’s tournament was to begin Saturday with top-seeded Yale playing Penn, followed by No. 2 seed Harvard facing Princeton. The men’s championship game was set for Sunday.
“It’s a bittersweet moment for us,” Yale spokesman Mike Gambardella said. “We’re happy our men will get an (automatic bid), but disappointed that our women won’t be able to compete for a championship.”