3/12/2020 basketball Edit

Breaking: Pac-12 cancels tournament & suspends future competition

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

In response to the global threat of the Pandemic-level COVID-19 that has rapidly swept through the United States in recent days, the near-term future of intercollegiate athletics is very much on hold.

On Wednesday morning, the Pac-12 Conference announced that the remainder of the men's basketball tournament in Las Vegas would be canceled, ending the Beavers' (18-13) hot-start to the tournament.

Additionally, the conference has decided to effectively cancel the remainder of any sporting event this season until they have a better handle of how bad the Coronavirus will get here in the United States.

"The Pac-12 has made the decision to cancel the remainder of the men's basketball tournament and all Pac-12 sports competitions until further notice," the Pac-12 said in a release. "This decision has been made in consultation with our member universities in an effort to limit the spread of the virus and in the interest of the health, safety, and well-being for those who attend Pac-12 events."

"The safety of our student-athletes, staff, and fans is paramount," Oregon State Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes said. "We have made this decision based on the latest recommendations by medical professionals, the NCAA, and the Pac-12 Conference."

Additionally, Oregon Governor Kate Brown has put a ban on public events that draw over 250 people for at least four weeks, which means that the future of any sporting event with this pandemic in play is out of the question.

OSU fans that have purchased tickets for events that have been affected by this policy will receive credit for an upcoming OSU Athletics event. Ticket purchasers will be receiving an email soon on the process for receiving the credit or the process for refunds.

Stick with BeaversEdge.com for continuing coverage on this breaking story and how it will affect the Oregon State sports teams that still have competition left to play this calendar year...