The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team was scheduled to tipoff the 2020-21 season Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
UT has since announced that the Vols’ first two games, part of the Volunteer Classic, have been canceled.
UT press release:
After consultation with the Knox County Health Department, Tennessee has announced that its men’s basketball games against Charlotte and VCU, scheduled for Wednesday and Friday, respectively, have been canceled due to COVID-19 contact tracing.
Earlier Monday, the Tennessee program paused all team activities following multiple positive COVID-19 test results among its Tier 1 personnel, which consists of coaches, student-athletes, team managers and support staff. The positive test results were detected during routine COVID-19 surveillance testing, which is conducted three times a week in accordance with NCAA and SEC guidelines.
The basketball program is following SEC, local and university public health guidelines to prioritize the health and safety of all student-athletes and staff as well as the campus and local community.
Charlotte and VCU also mutually agreed to cancel their game that was scheduled for Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena as they both explore other scheduling options.
Tennessee’s participation in next week’s Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis has not been ruled out at this point, as a projected activity-resumption date for the Volunteers will be determined following further monitoring.
Ticket holders will receive communication via email if additional changes are made to Tennessee’s schedule throughout the season and should ensure that VolsTix@utk.edu is recognized by their email client as a “safe sender” so emails are not directed to a junk or spam folder.
Given the unusual nature of this season—specifically, the current unknowns related to the likelihood of postponed games getting rescheduled or canceled games getting replaced by previously unscheduled matchups—Tennessee Athletics will determine its basketball ticket refund policy at the conclusion of the regular season.
We appreciate the flexibility and understanding of our ticket holders.
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