With the growing concern over COVID-19 in the United States and around the globe, the NCAA has released a formal statement stressing the need for additional research on the pandemic before making any significant decisions regarding NCAA-sanctioned events.
Here is the full statement from the NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel;
The NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel recognizes the fluidity of COVID-19 and its impact on hosting events in a public space. The panel members believe that we need to better understand COVID-19 while continuing to work with local, state and federal health authorities such as the CDC. The key is for all stakeholders and athletes to practice risk mitigation at all events. At present the panel is not recommending cancellation or public spacing of athletic and related events scheduled to occur in public spaces across the United States.
With this being March, the NCAA realizes the need to address the concern about the Coronavirus outbreak before the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the biggest NCAA-sanctioned events under its control. Of course, we are now getting closer and closer to the point where some college football programs are going to have to address the concern as well.
Considering sporting event sin much smaller venues are already taking drastic precautions, schools with stadium capacities of 50,000 up to 110,000 should be doing their due diligence in preparing and ensuring the safest environment for their students, players, coaches and, of course, the droves of fans who will show up for spring football scrimmages in March and April. If the Coronavirus outbreak continues, then schools like Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska, and Georgia — a few schools that traditionally are massive draws for spring football games — will be forced to address how it will be handled for spring football games.
The spring football games pick up mostly in April. You can see the full schedule here.
Michigan has scratched its next spring football trip abroad amid concerns of Coronavirus.
