Tag: ACC

RELEASE: NCAA Tournament Canceled

The NCAA has announced the news that just days ago seemed impossible – there will be no NCAA Tournament in 2020.

The NCAA has announced the news that just days ago seemed impossible – there will be no NCAA Tournament in 2020.

Release from the NCAA:

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. 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.

After the NBA’s announcement on Wednesday night it seemed like this was the likely next step.  It indeed was as the association released the statement Thursday afternoon.

No NCAA Tournament, men’s or women’s and no championships for any of the remaining winter or spring sports. As expected as this news was it still is a shock to think there is no NCAA Tournament, one of the greatest sporting events in the world this year.

ACC Suspends All Athletic Competitions

It’s not just spring football or the NCAA Tournament but now the ACC has suspended all athletic-related activities.  The conference released the following statement Thursday afternoon:

It’s not just spring football or the NCAA Tournament but now the ACC has suspended all athletic-related activities.  The conference released the following statement Thursday afternoon:

“The Atlantic Coast Conference has suspended all athletic-related activities including all competition, formal and organized practice, recruiting and participation in NCAA championships until further notice. The decision was made following consultation with the league’s presidents and athletic directors to mitigate the further spread of COVID-19.”

ACC Commissioner John Swofford added the following:

“This is uncharted territory and the health and safety of our student-athletes and institutions remain our top priority. This decision is aimed to protect from the further spread of COVID-19.” 

It’s not surprising but I know I’m not the only one wondering right now, how long?  Will it be a couple weeks, a couple months or will it be something that goes all the way until football season and beyond?

I don’t know.

You don’t know.

The guy yelling on your TV doesn’t know either.

Take care of yourselves and each other in the meantime.  If you haven’t taken Coronavirus seriously yet, I’m not saying go into panic mode but it’s time to give it more thought.  Beyond just washing your hands take the time to learn more about how even if you’ll be fine, how you may put others at risk.

We’ll have plenty of content in the meantime at Fighting Irish Wire and as it appears there will no NCAA Tournament to watch, we’ll have a tournament of our own to track in the coming weeks.

Notre Dame Cancels Spring Football Game

Notre Dame announced from their official football program Twitter account that the annual Blue-Gold spring game won’t take place

Earlier on Thursday the ACC Tournament and every other college basketball tournament was canceled. Brian Kelly also tweeted that the football program at Notre Dame had suspended operations for the foreseeable future in wake of Coronavirus.

It may have seemed inevitable after Michigan and Ohio State started the trend but moments ago Notre Dame announced from their official football program Twitter account that the annual Blue-Gold spring game won’t take place.

Again, hardly a surprise at this point but news nonetheless.

ACC Tournament Canceled – NCAA Tournament Next?

Wow. What a couple of days in sports. The NCAA announcing yesterday that it’d play its tournament without fans in attendance and then the bombshell of the NBA suspending its season last night. It seemed like a matter of time until the ACC canceled …

Wow. What a couple of days in sports. The NCAA announcing yesterday that it’d play its tournament without fans in attendance and then the bombshell of the NBA suspending its season last night. It seemed like a matter of time until the ACC canceled their tournament and well, that time has officially come.

Notre Dame was scheduled to play Virginia tonight and now that goes to the wayside, not that it’s necessarily that important in the wake of these events.

I’m hardly a successful gambler but my money would be on the NCAA to announce the cancellation of their tournament in a matter of days.

Stay safe out there.

Watch: Notre Dame Defeats Boston College, Advances in ACC Tourney

Whether this is the end of college basketball for the season remains to be seen. For the moment, though, enjoy some highlights:

Sports fans are going to remember Wednesday for all the wrong reasons, but before it all really hit the fan, Notre Dame beat Boston College in the second round of the ACC tournament. Whether this is the end of college basketball for the season remains to be seen. For the moment, though, enjoy some highlights:

Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Beat Eagles in ACC Tourney Opener

I know sports and the world are reeling right now, but let’s pretend everything is normal for the moment.

I know sports and the world are reeling right now, but let’s pretend everything is normal for the moment. Notre Dame defeated Boston College in the second round of the ACC tournament, 80-58, on Wednesday. It took an early lead and never was seriously threatened. The Irish (20-12) are scheduled to face No. 17 Virginia on Thursday, while the Eagles (13-19) will head home, hopefully able to take care of themselves during this time of crisis.

The scoring was pretty evenly spread out among Notre Dame players as five players finished in double figures. T.J. Gibbs led the Irish with 16 points. Dane Goodwin got a start and made the most of it with 15 points. Prentiss Hubb scored 14 to go with a game-high nine assists, Juwan Durham added 12 points, and Nate Laszewski added 10. John Mooney had a typical night on the glass with 11 rebounds.

Good thing this game finished up before the hour that canceled the NBA season, revealed Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have coronavirus, and the President banned all travel from Europe. No one would have known this contest took place. Hopefully, we’re all still alive for tomorrow’s game and beyond.

Notre Dame Plays on ACC Tournament’s Last Normal Night

Notre Dame began its ACC tournament run against Boston College on Wednesday with fans in attendance at Greensboro Coliseum.

Notre Dame began its ACC tournament run against Boston College on Wednesday with fans in attendance at Greensboro Coliseum. The crowd was sparse, which is expected during the early rounds of these conference tourneys, especially when marquee programs aren’t involved. That’s not a knock on the Irish, but let’s just say the basketball program has a long way to go to catch up with the football program in prestige.

At the same time, it’s fair to say the coronavirus pandemic might also have affected the crowd size. And it’s that very pandemic that likely will prevent any fans from attending the rest of the tournament. As of this writing, no official word had come down yet, but speculation on Twitter suggests the ACC will follow the Big Ten, Big 12 and others in banning fans from the rest of their tournament games.

Coupled with no fans being allowed at the NCAA tournament at all, this surely was the last night of normal college basketball of the season at the Division I level. Even if the Irish receive an NIT invite and a home game, the prospect of fans inside Purcell Pavilion for it is looking less likely. They should be likely they had the opportunity to play Wednesday’s game in front of anyone from the general public.

We’re undoubtedly living in the most uncertain time to be a sports fan in our lifetimes. Thursday and beyond will confirm that. It’s unfortunate it had to happen during the time of year everyone is focused on college basketball. Alas, as the song goes, que sera sera.

Notre Dame Cancels In-Person Classes

The University of Notre Dame announced Wednesday that in-person classes will be cancelled until at least April 13.

Notre Dame students are on spring break right now but won’t be returning to class next week and won’t be returning to class in a physical matter for at least a month.

The University of Notre Dame announced Wednesday that in-person classes will be canceled until at least April 13.  The university has also canceled classes for next week in order to prepare for all classes to move to the online format starting March 23.

Now to the question most Notre Dame fans have – what does it mean for the athletic teams?

The outstanding women’s lacrosse team played today, moving to 7-0 after defeating Vanderbilt 16-6.

The now-ranked baseball team is set to play this afternoon at Radford.

The basketball team begins play tonight in the 2020 ACC Tournament that is being held in Greensboro, North Carolina.

And according to Bryan Driskell of Irish Breakdown, the football team will continue with spring practice as scheduled.

NCAA Statement Unclear on COVID-19 and NCAA Championship

Consider the NCAA the masters of saying something, yet saying nothing at the same time.  

Consider the NCAA the masters of saying something, yet saying nothing at the same time.

With the outbreak of COVID-19 or Coronavirus as the world has been calling it, the rumors and thoughts that the NCAA Tournament might be played in an empty stadium.  Many, myself included, downplayed initial reports of this a week or so ago but in their statement released Tuesday afternoon, the NCAA was entirely non-committal to the games having or not having crowds.

The NCAA continues to assess how COVID-19 impacts the conduct of our tournaments and events. We are consulting with public health officials and our COVID-19 advisory panel, who are leading experts in epidemiology and public health, and will make decisions in the coming days.  – NCAA on March 10, 2020

So what the heck does that mean?

I interpret it as anything and everything is on the table.  The world and country are in a state of panic and nobody has any interest in being liable for a stadium full of fans being exposed to the virus.  It will certainly be interesting to see how all of this goes, especially after the ACC Tournament has already begun in Greensboro, North Carolina with no plan whatsoever to keep fans from the games while most of the other power conferences get their tournaments started Wednesday.

Stay tuned, this story isn’t going away and is only going to get bigger in the coming days and probably weeks.

ACC Issues Statement on Conference Tournament

My professional advice: wash your hands, be smart and don’t panic and you’ll probably be fine.

The 2020 ACC Tournament gets started tonight in Greensboro, North Carolina and despite other athletic associations changing their plans and playing in empty venues or cancelling games altogether, the ACC will stay the course with this week’s tournament.

Mostly, anyway.

Tuesday afternoon the ACC issued the following statement:

“After consultation with local and state health authorities, including the Governor and his medical staff, the Atlantic Coast Conference will hold its men’s basketball tournament as scheduled this week at the Greensboro Coliseum. As was outlined by the Governor during his press conference, high-risk individuals are discouraged from attending mass gatherings. We will continue to take precautionary measures and follow the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the league and the Greensboro Coliseum are taking additional proactive measures to provide a safe and clean environment for its institutions and fans.
The below proactive and response measures are currently in place:
  • Frequent cleaning and sanitizing of common areas, restrooms, concessions stands, media areas, team areas;
  • Increasing the number of hand-sanitizer stations throughout FanFest and the concourse;
  • Posting and distributing the CDC “Stop the Spread of Germs” information to ensure all fans are aware as they enter and move about the building;
  • Emergency Medical Services will be on scene for any medical concerns that arise.
As an extra precaution, postgame media availability will be altered for this year’s tournament. In an effort to secure the team locker rooms for the players, coaches and essential team personnel, the postgame media access will take place in the Odeon Theatre, with additional player availability in secured areas designated by the league office.”
So pretty much the ACC:

 

Encourages everyone to wash their hands which we’re learning by the day is a very forward thinking concept.

And like pretty much every other sports league they’re keeping the media out of the locker room, something I have trouble understanding becuase if you’re playing in front of thousands, what is it to stand closely to another 20 or so media members?

My professional advice: wash your hands, be smart and don’t panic and you’ll probably be fine.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on TV.