On a day when the Big 12 canceled the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and the NCAA did the same to its post-season tournaments, the conference announced that the ban on Big 12 events will extend to spring sports as well.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced that the remainder of the conference’s winter and spring championships are canceled.
West Virginia Athletic Director Shane Lyons announced that all WVU athletic events will be suspended through March 22. The Big 12 extended that suspension to March 29 for all regular-season competitions. The suspension applies to both on- and off-campus events as well as out-of-season practices.
No decision has been announced on WVU spring football practices or the spring game, scheduled for April 18. Michigan, Ohio State and Cincinnati, among others, have already called off their spring games.
“It’s a fluid situation, and we’re going to continue to monitor events to make a determination on how it is best to move forward for all involved,” WVU football coach Neal Brown said.
“I want our student-athletes, coaches and fans to be safe and for our department to follow the recommendation of the medical professionals,” Lyons said. “This is a necessary precaution to ensure the safety of our university, community, teams and support staff.
“The situation is fluid and we will monitor it daily to make the best decisions for all involved.”
The Big 12 action affects the WVU baseball, tennis, track and golf teams. It also wipes out the Big 12 Gymnastics Championships which were scheduled for March 21 at the WVU Coliseum.
The conference also issued a prohibition on all team and recruiting travel through March 29 and disallows both official and unofficial on-campus recruiting visits during that time.
The ban does not apply to on-campus in-season practices or strength-and-conditioning programs for all sports.
WVU’s spring break is scheduled for March 14-22. The university canceled in-person classes for the week after spring break (March 23-27). WVU hasn’t announced when class schedules will return to normal.
