The Mid-American Conference announced Tuesday the 2020 men's and women's basketball conference tournaments will be closed to the general public.

The tournaments move Wednesday, March 11 to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The opening round of the tournament took place Monday at campus sites.

This announcement from the Mid-American Conference came just more than four hours after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine tweeted that for indoor athletic events, "We are asking for no events with spectators other than the athletes, parents and others essential to the game."

The statement from the MAC said attendance for the tournaments will be limited to "credentialed institutional personnel, student-athlete family members, credentialed media, television and radio crews, and official team party members."

"The safety of all is our greatest concern," Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said. "Since January, I have stated that any decision would follow the advice of state governmental officials and medical professionals. Following the feedback we received today we have taken this action which is in alignment with the recommendation of Governor DeWine."

The No. 3-seeded Ball State men's basketball team plays No. 6 seed Kent State at about 9 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The No. 2-seeded Ball State women's basketball team plays No. 7 seed Eastern Michigan at about 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

"Although we never like to see the student-athlete experience compromised or remove opportunities for our supporters to root on the Cardinals, Commissioner Steinbrecher’s statement on safety is the top priority for all involved," Ball State said in a statement. "Despite this, we encourage our fans to tune in to the home radio broadcast, streaming or television broadcast options and cheer on the Cardinals."

The NCAA put out a statement Tuesday about its championship events, which includes the upcoming NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments.

"The NCAA continues to assess how COVID-19 impacts the conduct of our tournaments and events. We are consulting with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel, who are leading experts on epidemiology and public health, and will make decisions in the coming days."

The Mid-American Conference statement said all tickets for this year's men's and women's basketball tournaments "will be refunded in the form of a credit towards next year's tournament or a full refund." It directs fans to contact their respective athletic departments or the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse box office at 216-420-2200.

Related news:

Earlier on Tuesday, the Ivy League became the first Division I conference to cancel its 2020 men's and women's basketball conference tournaments due to COVID-19.

Erik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @HallErik.

Jordan Guskey covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high schools at the Star Press. Contact him at (765) 213-5813, jmguskey@muncie.gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.