Big Sky cancels basketball tournaments in Boise amid coronavirus concerns
UPDATE (March 12): The Big Sky Conference on Thursday canceled the remaining games in its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.
The Big Sky decision followed a string of conference tournament cancellations nationwide Thursday morning related to the spread of coronavirus. The conference was playing with fans in the arena late Wednesday night.
The cancellation affects the women’s championship game, which would have pitted Idaho against Montana State on Friday, and the final seven games of the men’s tournament, which was set to resume at noon Thursday with the quarterfinals.
Idaho is one of few states that do not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
“This decision was not made lightly, as we know how meaningful our basketball championships is to our student-athletes, coaches, alumni and fans,” Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a prepared statement. “After consulting with medical experts, local authorities and the leadership of our institutions, we feel that this decision is prudent given the health and well-being of all involved.
“We would be remiss not to acknowledge all of our local partners who helped us increase the interest in and attendance at our tournament this year, and we look forward to welcoming those fans back when we return to Boise in March 2021.”
A refund policy will be announced soon, the Big Sky said. The official attendance for the final game, Idaho vs. Idaho State women’s basketball on Wednesday night, was 1,248.
The automatic bids to the NCAA tournaments, if they’re played, go to the highest-remaining seeds, according to Big Sky Code, said Blake Barington, Big Sky director of communications. Those are No. 1 seeds Eastern Washington on the men’s side (hadn’t played a game yet) and Montana State on the women’s side (reached the final).
“It’s an extremely heartbreaking decision for our players, staff and everyone else involved,” Idaho women’s coach Jon Newlee said in a press release. “I’m just heartbroken for all the work and everything that we’ve done to get right to where we wanted to be, playing in the championship game against a team we split against, and to not be able to see the season finish. I understand the decision, following in line with all the conferences. I get it but that doesn’t mean that we like it.”
The NCAA announced Wednesday plans to play its national tournaments without fans present.
“It’s obviously not my decision, but I’m bummed for the kids,” Montana State coach Tricia Binford said Wednesday. “For the things that they’ve been working for all season long, you want fans there to get behind them.”
Eastern Washington released a statement from men’s basketball coach Shantay Legans after the Big Sky cancellation.
”This is an unprecedented situation and one where our first priority must undoubtedly be the health of our student-athletes and community at large. I fully support the Big Sky’s decision to cancel the tournament, and I will continue to defer to the NCAA’s leadership and our national experts in determining the proper course of action going forward,” he said.
Among the conferences to cancel tournaments Thursday: the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, American, Atlantic 10, Big East, Conference USA, Mid-American, America East and Western Athletic. The Pac-12 also shut down all sports “until further notice.”
Meanwhile, the NAIA canceled its winter championships Thursday. The College of Idaho men’s basketball team was the No. 1 seed in the Division II tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and won a first-round game Wednesday.
The Coyotes found out about the tournament cancellation through social media while the team was on its way to eat.
“I’m learning quickly there is no emotion in the human soul that’s built to comprehend this or deal with this,” College of Idaho coach Colby Blaine told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “... It was kind of quiet to start and really you just have hope that they’re all gonna meet and maybe figure out a solution to it. But I think it’s starting to settle in that there is no solution. We’re just going to cancel the tournament.
“So I just told our guys how proud I am of them. We’ve made a commitment all year that basketball is more than basketball to our team. It’s about a lot of other things. And I told them how proud I am of them for proving every night that they are the best team. I mean, we won 25 games in a row against NAIA Division II teams. We’ve always done more than just basketball, our community service and our time together was more than just this tournament.”
The Mountain West was able to complete its men’s and women’s tournaments last week in Las Vegas. The Boise State women won a fourth straight title and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the Utah State men upset No. 6 San Diego State. Assuming the NCAA proceeds with a fanless tournament, the men’s selection show is at 4 p.m. Sunday on CBS, and the women’s field will be released at 5 p.m. Monday on ESPN.
The BSU men lost in the Mountain West semifinals and were hoping to receive an invitation to the NIT. That tournament also is run by the NCAA and was scheduled to proceed with only essential staff and limited family in attendance.
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Original post:
At least 18 Division I conferences have restricted fan access for their men’s or women’s college basketball tournaments this week because of the coronavirus pandemic, and NCAA President Mark Emmert announced Wednesday that the NCAA Tournament will be played as scheduled minus fans in the stands.
The NBA also has suspended its season.
While Idaho does not have any confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Big Sky Conference’s presidents will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday to discuss how the league intends to proceed with its basketball tournaments at Boise’s CenturyLink Arena, Big Sky Director of Communications Blake Barington told the Idaho Statesman after play wrapped up Wednesday night.
The tournament started Monday and has been open to fans. Games are slated to resume at noon Thursday with the men’s quarterfinals. Whether that’s with fans remains to be seen.
“I’m absolutely comfortable with (fans in the building),” said Idaho women’s coach Jon Newlee, whose Vandals face Montana State in the title game at 1 p.m. Friday. “I’m comfortable, I know our players are comfortable, and now hopefully we just keep going forward as we are right now.”
In a statement released March 5, the Big Sky said it is “committed to conducting its championships and events in a safe and responsible manner, with our top priority being the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.”
The conference also left open the possibility of a change to its policies if it is deemed necessary.
“The conference office is monitoring the situation closely and is working diligently to review and revise our policies and procedures as needed,” the statement reads, “with constant feedback being provided by medical professionals, our member institutions, CenturyLink Arena management, the Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau, Boise city officials and Idaho public health officials.”
As of Wednesday night, it appeared only the Big Sky, Western Athletic and Missouri Valley women’s tournaments were proceeding with fans among those played at a single site. The NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — where College of Idaho is competing for a national title — is closed to fans.
Montana State coach Tricia Binford said Wednesday that playing without fans at the NCAA Tournament would be disappointing.
“It’s obviously not my decision, but I’m bummed for the kids,” she said. “For the things that they’ve been working for all season long, you want fans there to get behind them. All we can do is control what we control. And we’re going to go out and battle on Friday, and then we’ll focus on next week.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 12:32 AM.
