The NCAA has officially canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, NCAA president Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors said today in a statement.
A Wednesday announcement had suggested the NCAA planned to move forward with the tournaments without fans in attendance. However, in the 24 hours since Wednesday’s press release was issued, the NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS have all postponed their seasons, and virtually every Division I conference canceled their own tournaments, prompting the NCAA to reconsider its stance.
“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” the NCAA said in its statement.
All remaining winter and spring NCAA championships will be canceled as well, according to the press release. The wording in the statement – including “cancel” rather than “postpone” – indicates that the NCAA won’t be leaving the door open to March Madness being pushed back and becoming April Madness or May Madness.
The decision also means that NCAA prospects who intend to become part of the 2020 draft class have played their last college games. It remains unclear how many opportunities NBA teams will get to scout those players this spring, with events like the Nike Hoop Summit, the Portsmouth Invitational, and the Draft Combine all up in the air as well.
Not even postpone straight cancellation only the NCAA , what a joke of an organization
I’m sure it’s difficult with logistics….especially with most schools wrapping up school by mid May
No NCAA baseball season at all I guess.
NCAA cancelled all winter and spring seasons/championships. Things could change if this all suddenly takes a sharp turn for the better, but most likely.
No. No. No. No. No. WHY LORD WHY
Had a perfect bracket this year!
Was that sarcastic Mr.2young2die?
This is really going to be a boring spring.
Some things are more important than sports…
I never said they weren’t important, I just said they were boring.
Give me a break – the NCAA the safety of fans, players and staff above the tournament … feel sorry for yourselves and the Vegas bookies who lost millions.
As for why not postponing it, think about it 68 teams having to continue to practice and then travel, think about 14 venues having to keep their scheduling open and think about all the other related costs and inconveniences.
Does that mean that the College World Series is also cancelled?
The only thing that scares the NCAA more than letting players earn money is coronavirus, apparently.
This could be (should be) the year that there is no nba draft at all… just make every senior and declared underclassman a free agent and let players, agents, and teams court each other in a free-for-all in a “time tbd” window.
With a set salary cap in place, also tbd, a player may, in some situations, choose the best fit rather than the most money.
Imagine several teams going after Lonzo Ball…. he may (or may not) choose to play with his brother – or he could possibly go to the Suns or the Knicks (or wherever!).
The dynamic of this unconventional season could make an unconventional “draft” situation like this more interesting than an actual draft.
I think it should be considered – especially because this draft is so weak that no team would gain much of an advantage in “winning” the draft.
Again, there would be some type of $ cap tbd.