NCAA VP of men’s basketball provides update on tournament plans amid coronavirus outbreak
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The NCAA Tournament is drawing ever closer. Selection Sunday is on March 15, and the tournament will start with the First Four in Dayton that following Tuesday.
But, as certain sporting events around the world are either being canceled or played without fans present amid a coronavirus outbreak, concerns about the NCAA Tournament abound.
On Sunday, NCAA vice president of men’s basketball Dan Gavitt said the plan for now is to continue with the tournament games as regularly scheduled:
NCAA's Dan Gavitt just said on CBS that NCAA is "definitively" planning on playing tourney games with spectators. Obviously things can change rapidly but he said NCAA's panel of experts is in nearly daily communication with the CDC.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 8, 2020
Dan Gavitt on CBS: "The advice we're getting from our experts is playing without fans is not called for."
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) March 8, 2020
Dan Gavitt on CBS: NCAA still planning to run the tournament at all 14 sites.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) March 8, 2020
As mentioned in Seth Davis’s tweet above, the NCAA is in contact with the CDC frequently, so plans could change.
For now, though, expect March Madness to continue as planned.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
