NCAA cancels all sporting events for 2019-20 school year

NCAA+cancels+all+sporting+events+for+2019-20+school+year

Michael Conroy | Associated Press

The national office of the NCAA in Indianapolis is shown Thursday, March 12, 2020. The major conferences in college sports have canceled their basketball tournaments because of the new coronavirus, putting the celebrated NCAA college basketball tournament in doubt. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

By Northern Star Staff

CLEVELAND — Thursday started with the cancellation of several conference basketball championships — it ended with the cancellation of all NCAA activities, including March Madness and other sports championships.

Where many professional sporting leagues like the NBA, NHL and MLB decided to postpone their seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA, which previously intended to continue on with its basketball tournaments, canceled both the men’s and women’s tournaments, and every winter and spring championship after that according to ESPN.

“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 a statement Thursday.

This cancellation of all spring NCAA events includes sports like baseball and softball, whose seasons typically end in June. Other affected sports include gymnastics, lacrosse, golf, track and field and tennis.