The NCAA has canceled both the men’s and women’s national basketball tournaments in order to slow the spread of novel coronavirus.
Additionally, the Big Ten Conference has cancelled its conference tournaments in all winter sports, as well as all spring sports through the end of the academic year. For Wisconsin, that means women’s softball, men’s and women’s rowing, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s track and field will not compete in the Big Ten or NCAA this year.
The conference has also established a moratorium on all on- or off-campus recruiting efforts “for the foreseeable future.”
“The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic,” conference officials said in a statement. “The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.”
“It goes without saying that our department is taking the COVID-19 situation very seriously,” UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our student-athletes, staff and fans is our highest priority. We fully support the Big Ten Conference’s move to cancel conference-related sports events and activities for the remainder of the school year.”
