NCAA Tournament games in Ohio will have to be played without fans.Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
March Madness 2020 will be played without fans because of coronavirus
March Madness 2020 will be unlike any NCAA Tournament ever.
The NCAA announced on Wednesday that both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments will be played without fans after consulting with its coronavirus advisory panel.
“Based on [the panel’s] 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,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement.
The deadly virus was upgraded to a pandemic on Wednesday afternoon, less than a week before the field of 68 was set to tip off with the First Four in Dayton. The East Regional is scheduled for March 27 and 29 at Madison Square Garden.