by On Thursday morning, there was no music playing to hype up the MAC Basketball fans in attendance. That’s because the fans were not permitted to attend the 2020 edition of the postseason tournament.
At 11:30 AM, things seemed odder. No players from Akron University or Ohio University were on the floor to warm-up, just thirty minutes before tip-off.
An empty arena with no basketball. That is the lasting image of the 2020 MAC Basketball Tournament, as the conference announced that there will be no tournament to be played due to the pandemic that is the Coronavirus.
MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher made the announcement official on Thursday morning:
“We have been meeting all morning with our directors of athletics, with our presidents, talking
about what is the appropriate path forward,” Steinbrecher said.
“We’ve also been paying attention to what is
going on around us both in the world at large and the sports
world, and as you started to see
this morning, you’ve seen a number of conferences have made the decision to
cancel. We have come to the same conclusion and we are canceling our event.”
Steinbrecher continued his statement, expressing the somber nature of the times while noting safety being the first area of concern.
“It is incredibly disappointing in terms of the kids having a chance to compete further because
I know this is a pinnacle event and is something they look forward to, but simply from a
public health standpoint, this seems the appropriate course of action.”
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse workers that would’ve worked the event will get compensated as if they worked the event.
As far as the 2020 NCAA Tournament still taking place, there is no answer. If one were to guess, I’d say it looks unlikely.
