Thursday, 4:59 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional information.
The Sun Belt Conference announced the suspension of both its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments over mounting concerns surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) in a statement Thursday morning.
The league initially planned to limit entry to the tournaments at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans to “student-athletes, coaches, essential staff, officials, broadcast network staffs, credentialed media and limited immediate family members of the participating teams present” during the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament taking place on Saturday and Sunday. However, after further discussions, Sun Belt officials ultimately decided to cancel the tournaments altogether.
