Susan Walsh/Associated Press

The NCAA announced the 2020 men's and women's basketball tournaments have been canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.



Per an official statement from the NCAA, president Mark Emmert and the board of governors announced the remaining spring and winter championships have been canceled:

The NCAA previously announced plans to hold the tournaments without fans in the arena. However, circumstances over the last 24-48 hours made a cancellation inevitable.

The NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball announced indefinite suspensions of their operations earlier this week. The NBA was the first major organization to cease operations after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Teammate Donovan Mitchell later announced he has also tested positive.

Several NCAA member conferences, including all five Power Five conferences, canceled their conference tournaments this week.

Duke University and the University of Kansas indefinitely suspended all sports activities Thursday.

"We emphatically support the decision made by Dr. Price today regarding the suspension of athletic competition at Duke," coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. "The welfare of our student-athletes, and all students at Duke, is paramount, and this decision reflects that institutional priority. Certainly, I want to applaud Dr. Price, who took a leadership role with his presidential peers and the Atlantic Coast Conference in arriving at this decision."

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The NCAA men's basketball tournament was scheduled to begin on March 17 with the First Four. The women's basketball tournament was scheduled to begin on March 20.