Atlantic 10 cancels conference basketball tournament in Brooklyn

On Thursday afternoon, the Atlantic 10 Conference canceled its men’s basketball tournament that was taking at Barclays Center this weekend due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The 2020 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. has been cancelled, as announced today by Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.

FULL STATEMENT: https://t.co/JVF089341a pic.twitter.com/PAZax3si2J

— Atlantic 10 MBB (@A10MBB) March 12, 2020

“The A-10 has made a decision to discontinue play as a result of the Covid-19 virus. Given the rapid spread of the virus, this decision was supported by the Athletic Directors and Presidents’ Council,” said Atlantic 10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade in a statement. “These are uncertain times for sure, and we feel tremendous empathy for the student-athletes who will not have the opportunity to finish competing. However, the welfare of the student-athletes and the public is of utmost importance. ”

The cancellation was being discussed leading up the tip-off of the first game of the day at noon. It came on the heels of other conferences canceling their conference tournaments. The Big Ten, the American, and the SEC all announced their tournaments would be called off around the same time the Atlantic 10 called off the annual tournament.

The Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden was also canceled on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the NBA suspended the regular season after Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell, was diagnosed with the virus on Thursday morning. That diagnosis most likely added a sense of urgency to the situation in Brooklyn.

Later in the day, the MAAC announced that they canceled their tournament. The conference tournament was taking place in Atlantic City.

As the cancellations were being announced, the NCAA had yet to change its decision on next week’s NCAA Tournament. It was announced yesterday that all first and second-round games would be played without fans in attendance.