In response to COVID-19, the NCAA announced Thursday they've officially canceled the 2020 men's and women's basketball tournaments.
"Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships," the NCAA said in a statement.
"This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities."
There briefly was hope the tournaments could go on without fans, but as the circumstances around the coronavirus grow, it became clear cancelation was inevitable and the only reasonable option.
Thirteen conferences had already canceled their conference tournaments at the time of the announcement. This includes the A10, AAC, ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, MAC, Pac 12 and SEC.