2020 NCAA Basketball Tournaments Closed to Fans Because of Coronavirus

NCAA president Mark Emmert announced Wednesday the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will be closed to fans out of concern over the coronavirus:

Only essential staff and limited family will be allowed to attend. For fans who have already purchased tickets, the NCAA announced refunds will be given:

Emmert also announced changes could be made to venues after the first two rounds: 

The NIT will also be played without fans, per Andy Katz of Turner Sports.

As of Wednesday, there have been 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the United States leading to 31 deaths, per CNN.com.

The decision comes after the NCAA advisory panel announced it has recommended against keeping sporting events open to the public as a precaution to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

"We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance, and this protects our players, employees, and fans," the panel's statement added.

The advisory panel was established earlier this month and consists of NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline as well as several other doctors and athlete liaisons.

The decision to keep fans from the arenas follows the steps taken by authorities worldwide to attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19. Several events have also been postponed or canceled around the world.

In college basketball, the MAC and Big West prohibited spectators from attending their conference tournaments, while the Ivy League canceled both its men's and women's tournaments.

On Wednesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he will issue an order on large gatherings that includes banning fans from attending NCAA tournament games within the state, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. 

This would have included both the First Four in Dayton as well as men's first- and second-round games in Cleveland.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner announced Tuesday all city-related events will be canceled or postponed in March, per Len Cannon of KHOU, which could include the South regional final.

COVID-19 has continued to spread globally with more than 115,000 infected and more than 4,000 dead from the respiratory disease, per CNN.com.

World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom characterized it officially as a "pandemic" in his latest remarks.

The NCAA tournament is still set to take place for the teams as scheduled, although Emmert noted the governing body can still make "adjustments as needed."