March Madness will take place without fans amid coronavirus fears

NCAA logo.
(Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Crowds have always played a crucial role during March Madness, often helping turn the tide of games in the men's and women's Division I basketball tournaments' one-and-done, anexity-inducing format. But not this year.

The NCAA will bar everyone but essential staff and family from attending its championship events, including basketball, after consulting with public health officials about the threat posed novel COVID-19 coronavirus, NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement Wednesday. Emmert said he knows the decision will be "disappointing" for fans, but he reached the decision based on the "current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing" in the U.S. with an eye toward keeping fans, coaches, administrators, and student-athletes safe.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.