NASHVILLE — Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey was emotional on Thursday afternoon at a press conference after he made the decision to cancel the SEC men’s basketball tournament.
The event was officially canceled before No. 8 seed Tennessee was slated to take on No. 9 Alabama.
“You make the best decisions and the most responsible decisions with the information that you have available,” Sankey said.
The SEC was not the only league to bring a halt to its postseason tournament. All remaining conference tournaments will not be played.
Furthermore, Sankey announced that all on-field completion in baseball and softball will be suspended until at least March 30. He noted that national championships in wrestling, gymnastics and indoor track and field are scheduled to proceed as scheduled and that the SEC teams in those sports will be allowed to participate.
Baseball and softball may be affected beyond the month of March.
“It may not be March 30, it may be beyond,” Sankey said.
The NBA, NHL and MLS have all suspended play and Major League Baseball is also planning to shut down operations in definitely.