Mountain West halts all spring athletics

The Mountain West announced on Thursday that it is suspending all spring athletic competitions in response to the spread of the coronavirus.

The suspension is the latest in a string of NCAA sporting events impacted by the pandemic. On Wednesday, UNLV announced that it would stage its spring athletic events with “essential personnel” only, but now those competitions will not be held at all. Spring football practice sessions can continue at the discretion of each school.

Most conference basketball tournaments have been halted, and though the NCAA announced it will play its championship tournament without fans in attendance, that event could be postponed or canceled as well; national championship contenders Duke and Kansas announced on Thursday that they are suspending all athletics, which could include pulling out of the NCAA Tournament.

As part of its announcement, the Mountain West said member schools that qualify for the NCAA Tournament can participate in that event if they so choose. Utah State earned an automatic bid by winning the Mountain West tournament, and San Diego State is certain to be selected as an at-large team.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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