As big events begin to close to fans, coronavirus threat hangs over Sacramento sports
The threat of coronavirus continues to cast a shadow of uncertainty for regional sports, from high schools to community colleges and next week’s March Madness stopover at Golden 1 Center for two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Sacramento State athletic director Mark Orr is in Boise this week to watch the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament that includes the Hornets men’s team. He is keeping his finger on the pulse of the coronavirus concerns because Sac State is the host school for the March madness at Golden 1.
“This stuff is all nuts,” Orr said of the confusion over coronavirus. “Everyone is still trying to figure it all out. It’s been all over the map. I know the NCAA is monitoring it. We all are. We’re trying to make sure what’s in the best interest of health and safety. There’s no protocol for this. We’re all listening to experts who are a lot smarter on this stuff than we are. We’re hopeful everything will be OK.”
Sac State president Robert S. Nelsen normally attends the Big Sky tournament. This week, he’s remaining at Sac State to keep an eye on developments, Orr said
Across the country, there remains a push for awareness, safety and not getting into panic mode.
On Monday, Santa Clara County placed a ban on gatherings of 1,000 or more people, effective Wednesday, which impacts the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and, potentially, events such as the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Stanford.
Also Monday, the NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and MLS announced that teams would close locker rooms to cut down access from people due to coronavirus threat.
On Tuesday, the Ivy League announced its men and women’s basketball tournaments on the East Coast have been canceled.
Also Tuesday, the Sheldon High School boys basketball team, top-ranked in Northern California the past three seasons, was cleared by the Elk Grove Unified School District to continue its season.
The EGUSD on Saturday announced that all student-related events in the district would be canceled and all schools would close this week.
In Placer County on Monday, Sierra College declared a state of emergency and announced it would limit access to campus. Sporting events are allowed to continue on campus, but without fans.
JC finals without fans
Late Tuesday afternoon, the California Community College Athletic Association, based in Sacramento, announced that this week’s state men and women’s basketball tournaments at West Hills College in Lemoore will be contested without fans. Only “teams and essential staff” will be allowed in attendance, according to a statement form the CCCAA.
The association is doing so “with the health and well-being of its student-athletes at the forefront of decision-making and out of an abundance of caution for fans and other due to the COVID-19 concerns...”
The statement said that the decision was made “after collaboration between West Hills College Lemoore, West Hills Community College District leadership, the CCCAA, the men’s and women’s basketball coaches’ associations and upon information and recommendations from the Kings County Department of Public Health.”
“It’s a delicate balance between health and safety and allowing our student-athletes to participate in a championship event they have worked hard to reach,” said Jennifer Cardone, CCCAA Interim Executive Director in the statement. “This is not an easy decision but a necessary one. While we will not be able to provide the kind of championship experience that everyone deserves, providing the opportunity to play for a state championship is still intact and a pinnacle reachable for 16 men’s and women’s basketball teams.”
King County has not reported any cases of anyone infected with the virus. Games will be streamed live online free of charge at cccaasports.org and socalcollegesports,com. Opening-round games are Thursday with semifinals on Saturday and the championship on Sunday.
The women’s tournament includes top-seeded Delta of Stockton (29-1) and No. 4 North-seeded Sierra College (22-7). The men’s bracket includes top-seeded City College of San Francisco (30-0), which includes former Bee Player of the Year Dale Currie of Sheldon, and Fresno City (27-3), led by interim coach Nicholas Podesta, a Sacramento native. The roster includes Ronald Agesbar of Sheldon, Keshawn Bruner of Burbank and Eljay Gallegos of Folsom.
UC Davis men and women affected
Also late Tuesday afternoon, the Big West Conference announced the men and women’s basketball tournament in Southern California will be played without spectators as “a precaution for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” according to a statement from the Big West. The event started Tuesday night.
The women’s tournament includes defending champion UC Davis and started Tuesday at Long Beach State. The men’s tournament will be held in Anaheim.
“The Big West Board of Directors, comprised of the chief executive officers of the nine member universities, strongly feel that this is a prudent way to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus while being sensitive to our student-athletes who have pointed towards playing in the tournament all season,” said Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell in the statement. “Many of our institutions are developing plans to minimize the interaction of individuals on their campuses that could include the downsizing of events.
No area high school districts have, as of late Tuesday morning, announced any sports events have been canceled.
And the Sacramento Kings have said they are stepping up their arena cleaning and increasing the amount of hand sanitizer available around the stadium.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 11:39 AM.