The Big Ten, Big 12, ACC And PAC-12 Will Not Allow Fans Into Conference Tournaments (UPDATE)

The NCAA became the first major sports league or entity in the United States to close its doors to fans when president Mark Emmert announced the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments will be played without spectators in attendance as a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19.

While the NBA and other leagues are mulling similar courses of action, with local governments forcing the hands of some like the Warriors and Cavaliers to close their doors, the NCAA went ahead and made what seems to be the right call given the vast majority of public health officials and infectious disease experts are recommending social isolation as much as possible to reduce the spike of cases that could overwhelm the healthcare industry and lead to untold deaths.

However, while the NCAA was announcing that decision, thousands of fans were either arriving at or already in their seats for various conference tournaments, as major conferences like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big East, Pac-12, and Big 12 were all proceeding with plans to have fans at the tournaments. Not long after the NCAA’s announcement, the Big Ten and Big 12 announced that, beginning on Thursday, they would be closing the doors to fans. Games will still be broadcast as usual on television.

The Big Ten Conference announced this evening that beginning Thursday, March 12, 2020, attendance at all Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament games will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

Additionally, all further Big Ten Conference winter and spring sport competitions, including championship/tournament events, will also be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all relevant information on the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis.

The ACC also joined the fray, announcing the remainder of its conference tournament would take place with only family members and essential personnel present.

https://twitter.com/martinrickman/status/1237890868201185284?s=21

The PAC 12 Tournament, already underway, will also stop fans from attending as well.

The SEC announced the same.

We will update this post if and when more decisions to close the doors to conference tournaments come in.