Texas Athletics Suspends Fan Attendance Through March 22
With growing concerns over COVID-19 (coronavirus), the University of Texas has decided all sporting events will be played without fans through March 22.
“We realize COVID-19 (coronavirus) is a major concern to everyone, and in an effort to mitigate any potential risks for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans, we will be limiting those in attendance at our home sporting events through the next two weekends,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “We regret that our fans will not be able to attend our events to support our teams, but this decision was made with the health and well-being of our campus community and fans as the top priority.
The University's athletics programs will continue to practice, travel and play games as scheduled. Administrators made it clear they were keeping a close eye on the situation and indicated that further action may be taken as neeeded.
“This is an evolving situation, and we remain in constant communication with our University leadership and will continue to reassess the situation. Ultimately, we will take direction from President Fenves and The University while continuing to discuss and evaluate the best way to handle our future events. We will continue to monitor the situation and make additional announcements if other events are impacted.”
The Longhorns baseball team will be at home this weekend for a three-game series with New Mexico. Those games, as well as a March 17 home contest with New Mexico, will be played as scheduled without fans in attendance. Columbia University has canceled the tennis match with the University of Texas that was scheduled for Saturday.
This news comes on the back of the announcement from the Big 12 conference that the men's and women's conference tournaments will be played with limited fans in attendance. Each school will receive an allotment of 175 tickets and the arena will be cleared between contests.
“The priority of the Big 12 Conference is to ensure the safety of our students, coaches, administrators, event staff and fans,” the Big 12 said in a statement. “After careful consideration and consulting with medical officials, other conferences, the NCAA and local officials, the Big 12 Conference announced that after tonight’s men’s first-round games, all remaining Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship games will be played with only family, friends, credentialed media and essential staff permitted in the arenas.”
The NCAA Tournament will also be played without fans present, per an announcement from the organization Thursday.
Outside of college sports, the NBA suspended its season today after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The NHL has barred the media from the locker room and the XFL's Seattle Dragons will play the Los Angeles Wildcats on Sunday without fans in attendance.
