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Division III NCAA Tournament site shutting out spectators due to coronavirus scare

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

One of the host sites of this weekend’s Division III NCAA Tournament will be hosting first- and second-round games without any spectators due to the coronavirus scare.

Johns Hopkins University, one of the host sites for the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament at the Division III level, has decided to play the games this weekend without any fans in attendance. The decision came after a recently-confirmed case of coronavirus was found in Maryland, the home state of the school.

Thursday night, Johns Hopkins released a statement.

“Johns Hopkins University is pleased to be hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament this weekend,” the statement said. “However, in light of Maryland’s recently confirmed cases of COVID-19, and based on CDC guidance for large gatherings, we have determined that it is prudent to hold this tournament without spectators.

“We are not making any determination about other JHU events at this time; while we await further guidance from public health authorities, we will be assessing large events on a case-by-case basis. We regret any inconvenience to the families and fans of the players.”

The school is offering refunds to anyone who purchased tickets in advance.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB