Chicago State basketball will not travel for its final two regular season games because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak across the country, the school announced on on Tuesday. Chicago State was slated to play at Seattle University and Utah Valley University.
"Chicago State athletics views our decision as a reaffirmation of our commitment to the well-being, health and safety of our student athletes," athletic director Elliott Charles said in a statement. As of Tuesday, there had been 27 reported cases of coronavirus in Washington.
The school also announced that its women's basketball team will not host its final two regular season games. The school is also considering whether it will participate in the WAC tournament in Las Vegas next week, according to the statement.
Chicago State's decision is not the first reaction within college basketball to the coronavirus outbreak. The NCAA announced Tuesday that it has formed an advisory panel in response to the outbreaks as a preemptive response. Also, the Atlantic 10 Conference announced Tuesday it won't allow handshakes between players before or after games in its conference tournaments.
The measures follow an urging of the National College Players Association that there should be "serious discussion" about holding the NCAA Tournament without fans in attendance because of the "emerging coronavirus pandemic."
The Cougars (4-25, 0-14 Western Athletic Conference) have lost 19 straight games. They dropped their first games against Seattle and Utah Valley by 32 and 21 points, respectively, in January and have lost their 14 conference games by an average of 23.5 points.
