Ivy League Cancels Conference Tournaments Due to Coronavirus
The Ivy League has canceled its men's and women's basketball conference tournament due to coronavirus concerns, the league announced Tuesday.
The regular season champions–Princeton's women's team and Yale's men's team–are automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament.
"We understand and share the disappointment with student-athletes, coaches and fans who will not be able to participate in these tournaments," Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris said in a statement. "Regrettably, the information and recommendations presented to us from public health authorities and medical professionals have convinced us that this is the most prudent decision."
Yale's men's team went 23–7 this season and was set to face Penn in the semifinals of the conference tournament held at Harvard University on Saturday.
Princeton's women's team finished the regular season at 26–1 with 22 consecutive wins. The Tigers were scheduled to play Columbia in the semifinals on Friday.
Harvard men's basketball coach Tommy Amaker released a statement saying he supports the decision to cancel the tournament.
"This is an unprecedented situation and I fully support the University and College's actions to protect the health and well-being of our students," he said.
However, Harvard guard Bryce Aiken took to Twitter to express his disappointment over the league's actions. The Crimson would have faced Princeton in the semifinals.
"Horrible, horrible, horrible decision and total disregard for the players and teams that have put their hearts into this season," Aiken said. "Everyone knows the risk of playing!"
All tickets for the Ivy League tournament will be refunded in full. The women's tournament was scheduled for March 13 and 14, while the men's would have been held on March 14 and 15.
The league will implement "highly-restrictive, in-venue spectator limitations" on other sporting events, but will allow postseason games for other winter sports. All out-of-season practices and games have been canceled.
