The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Thursday canceled the annual men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments known as March Madness amid the global coronavirus outbreak.
Basketball — as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships — will be canceled, the association announced. The day before, the NCAA has said it would be restricting tournament attendees to only team family members, essential staff and media.
“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events to dot 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 association said.
College basketball conferences en masse announced they would be canceling their respective tournaments on Thursday, shortly before NCAA announcement.
The NBA, NHL and MLS have all suspended their seasons in the face of the coronavirus.
The NBA’s move came as at least two players with the Utah Jazz have tested positive for the disease.
The MLB is also expected to cease its spring training activities, ESPN reported Thursday.
More than 1,300 cases have been confirmed of the virus in the U.S. and at least 38 people in the country have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Globally, more than 127,000 cases and 4,718 deaths have been confirmed.