Sacramento is set to host March Madness — but how will NCAA respond to coronavirus?
Coronavirus concern has seeped into the Northern California sporting scene, to the point that an advocacy group for college sports has urged the governing body NCAA to hold March Madness without fans.
That could include the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Stanford, should that school host a regional round as projected, and the men’s first- and second-round tournament games at Golden 1 Center on March 20 and 22, an event hosted by Sacramento State that’s expected to sell out.
“If you can think of it, it’s something that we’ve gone through an analysis around,” NCAA Chief Operating Officer Donald Remy told Bloomberg News on Monday. ”We’ve contingency planned for all circumstances.”
The NCAA has established an advisory panel to address the virus known as COVID-19, headed by NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline to address fears of a virus that has killed 3,100 people across the world, mostly in China, and has sickened 92,000 people. Eleven have died from the virus in the United States, 10 in Washington and one confirmed Tuesday at Kaiser Roseville hospital.
In a statement, Donald Remy of the NCAA said Tuesday, “The NCAA is committed to conducting its championships and events in a safe and responsible manner. Today, we are planning to conduct our championships as planned; however, we are evaluating the COVID-19 situation daily and will make decisions accordingly.”
The NCAA on Tuesday also sent this statement to member schools, including Sac State, that read in part, “The national office is actively monitoring the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the United States and is developing contingency plans should it rapidly spread. Student-athletes from all three divisions will serve as liaisons to the panel. We will keep you updated on our efforts to assess and react to this quickly evolving public health challenge.”
On Tuesday, Stanford announced that its emergency coronavirus task force has recommended changes for on-campus events between this week and April 15. The school said it plans to “limit the number of attendees at our competitions in order to allow for sufficient social distancing.”
That translates to small or no crowds. Also Tuesday, Chicago State University canceled road and home games for men and women’s basketball due to coronavirus fears. These are the first reported such moves by major sports in the United States.
“Chicago State athletics views our decision as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the well-being, health and safety of our student athletes,” Chicago State athletic director Elliott Charles said in a statement.
And the high schools?
There was talk of the coronavirus during the Sac-Joaquin Section girls and boys basketball championships at Golden 1 Center, a total of 12 games, but there were no plans to delay events or keep fans away. Section commissioner Mike Garrison said he had not heard of any of the section’s 190 schools expressing concern with the virus, adding, “We will monitor it.”
The CIF State Basketball Championships will be held at Golden 1 Center on March 13 and 14, a total of 12 games for boys and girls. That event is still scheduled to proceed. The NCAA tournament starts the following week at the Sacramento arena.
Said the CIF in a statement posted on its website, “Members of our interscholastic community are asking questions and raising concerns about the Coronavirus. While the CIF does not offer medical advice regarding disease prevention, the CIF wishes to direct its community to the following information and additional resources. We want to stress that we understand these concerns, given the significant attention this topic has received in the media. We are committed to help protect the health and safety of the student-athletes and the staff of our member schools. The CIF strongly encourages students, parents, and staff to consult their school or district’s website or personnel for information regarding specific, local responses.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 11:59 AM.