Top NCAA officials are meeting most of the day Thursday to decide the future of the 2020 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament amid growing concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a high-level NCAA source told CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. Though a decision could be shared with the public at any point, the current expectation is that an official announcement won't be made until Friday.
With college basketball league tournaments ongoing ahead of Selection Sunday and the start of the NCAA Tournament, every major conference announced the complete cancelation of those events on Thursday -- many just minutes or hours before play was to commence. On Wednesday, the conferences and the NCAA had decided to play the games without fans and only essential persons in attendance.
Furthermore, many conferences such as the ACC and SEC on Thursday canceled all spring sports throughout their leagues for the foreseeable future.
The NBA on Wednesday announced the suspension of its season after two Utah Jazz players were diagnosed with coronavirus. The NHL and MLS followed suit on Thursday, and MLB decided to suspend operations with a potential delay to the start of its 2020 season. Numerous other major sporting events have been canceled, postponed or are ongoing without fans in attendance.
The NCAA Tournament has been played every year since it began in 1939.
