NCAA President Mark Emmert in a statement this afternoon said upcoming championship events, including the NCAA Tournament, will be held with "only essential staff and limited family in attendance." Emmert said this decision came after input from the NCAA COVID-19 advisory panel and NCAA BOG, and it is in the "best interest of public health, including that of coaches, administrators, fans and, most importantly, our student-athletes" (NCAA).

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier today said that he would make an order in the next day that will "keep spectators from attending NCAA tournament events in Dayton and Cleveland" in the coming days (DAYTON DAILY NEWS, 3/11). UD Arena at the Univ. of Dayton is scheduled to host First Four games next Tuesday and Wednesday, while Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is scheduled to host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games on March 20 and 22 (THE DAILY). ESPN's Seth Greenberg said games being played without spectators will "not have a major impact” on the teams and players because “you’re playing for something” in terms of a national championship. He added, “Obviously, we’re dealing with something that's much bigger than basketball” (ESPN, 3/11). 

MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said having to hold the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments without fans is "horribly disappointing." Steinbrecher: "Once you get the information from the director of the state board of health and the governor, I'm not sure you're left with a lot of options. There's a bit of a black cloud over my head this morning, mitigated only by the fact we get to have our teams compete. That's the most important thing: It's about the student-athletes. But, golly, you work all year on these things, you make plans, people set their vacation plans, then to have to change that at the last minute, it hurts" (CRAINSCLEVELAND.com, 3/11).

Meanwhile, Ivy League presidents today announced a unanimous decision to cancel all spring athletics practice and competition through the remainder of the academic year (Ivy League). 

The Warriors will play tomorrow night's home game against the Nets at Chase Center "without any fans in attendance," with the coronovirus threat prompting this "unprecedented decision." This comes "shortly after the announcement" by S.F. Mayor London Breed that all events in the city involving more than 1,000 people "would be canceled for the next two weeks." Refunds "will be given to fans with tickets" to the game, as well as Saturday’s G League Austin Spurs-Santa Cruz Warriors game, which "will be moved from Chase Center to Santa Cruz" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/11).

Also in the Bay Area, "plans are now on hold" for the Giants' and A's two-game, home-and-home Spring Training series. Both teams "will likely stay in Arizona and play their exhibition games originally planned for the Bay Area" at their respective Spring Training ballparks. The Giants "have not made an announcement" regarding their planned March 22 exhibition against the Triple-A PCL River Cats, but "that game is likely to be moved to Arizona, too" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/11).

Stanford today said that "all sporting events will be closed to the public, possibly until May 15 -- although an exception will be made if the Cardinal women's basketball team hosts early-round games in the NCAA Tournament." The tourney plays its first two rounds at host sites; Stanford is ranked seventh nationally and "will almost certainly host first- and second-round games March 20-22 at Maples Pavilion." The school said that it will "follow the county mandate and limit NCAA games to 1,000 people" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/11).

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued an order restricting all gatherings of more than 250 people in Seattle's King County, and the Mariners and MLB have now "discussed contingency plans" for the team's opening weekend at T-Mobile Park on March 26. Sources said that among the options discussed are "playing the games in Arizona, Texas and Minnesota and playing in an empty stadium." The homestand was scheduled to include four games against the Rangers and three against the Twins. 

Meanwhile, the Sounders announced today that they will "postpone a scheduled match" for March 21 against FC Dallas at CenturyLink Field. Also, Sunday's XFL matchup between the L.A. Wildcats and Seattle Dragons at CenturyLink Field will be played "without fans" (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/11).

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's ruling on the Red Sox' sign-stealing "has now been pushed back to at least next week." For now, the league is "fixated" on working with the MLBPA to "try to determine rules on how to handle in-game technology for this season, and is mostly in a day-by-day and even an hour-by-hour process of adapting to changing information about the coronavirus." The league at present is "most worried about games in Seattle and California." In addition to the Mariners situation, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a state-owned building, so if California "bans large gatherings, MLB will have to audible off of that decision" (N.Y. POST, 3/11).

Meanwhile, a top federal health official today told lawmakers that the coronavirus "would continue to spread" in the U.S. National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Disease Dir Dr. Anthony Fauci indicated that the NBA "should bar audiences from its games." Fauci said, "We would recommend that there not be large crowds. If that means not having any people in the audience as the NBA plays, so be it" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/11).

Activision Blizzard Esports this afternoon announced that it has canceled all Overwatch League events this month and next month, and it is working with teams to figure out when the schedule can resume. ABE had already postponed all OWL events in China and South Korea in recent weeks, along with one in Paris that was officially canceled earlier today. But prior to today, the cancellations had not affected North American events. ABE said that it is still working on adjustments for the Call of Duty League and is not ready to announce them.

A source said that teams were informed of the decision earlier today. ABE says that no other adjustments have been made to the ’20 OWL schedule at this time. This year is an important one for OWL because it is the first full year of the homestand model, along with the first year of a new digital media-rights partnership with YouTube. OWL is just a little more than a month into the ’20 season.

In the latest "SBJ Unpacks," Bret McCormick is joined by Bill Oakes to chat about how COVID-19 is disrupting the pro tennis tours. The former Winston-Salem Open Tournament Dir and ATP Tour 250 Tournaments Exec Committee Chair shares his thoughts on what could be next.

The NWSL has reached three-year media rights agreements with CBS Sports and Twitch, which will take effect with the '20 season. The two deals "will provide coverage of 87 of the total 108 games of the season inside the U.S. via CBS, and offer live coverage of all 108 games around the globe on Twitch." CBS Sports' lineup of matches in '20 will include coverage of the NWSL season opener and title match on CBS, "along with two semifinal games and 12 regular season matches on CBS Sports and 71 additional games streamed on CBS All Access." In addition to CBS' coverage, Twitch "will provide free live streams of 24 matches to U.S. viewers" in '20 (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 3/11).

Ohio State Univ. has "continued its pursuit to trademark the word 'the' in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just hours before the expiration of a six-month deadline to prove that consumers associate the word with the university." The office had "rejected the university’s trademark application in September." OSU "described the Wednesday legal move as a 'a defensive action'” (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 3/11).

Before The Players Championship tees off tomorrow, Grant Thornton -- one of the event's three “Proud Partners” -- has big plans at TPC Sawgrass as it ramps up marketing around its “Status Go” campaign. The accounting firm will entertain around 150 clients throughout the tournament. In addition to utilizing two chalets around Sawgrass’ famed island green and another in between holes 9 and 18, Grant Thornton Head of Sponsorship Marketing Carol Tarver wants to give clients a new experience this year, highlighted by what she dubbed a “progressive dinner.” In lieu of a traditional sit-down affair Wednesday evening, clients will spend the night mingling with young pros Matthew Wolff and Cameron Champ around the 17th hole and receiving short game tips from instructor Claude Harmon at the Sawgrass Performance Center.

On Saturday night, several Jaguars players, including QB Gardner Minshew, will be on hand for another dinner. Before the final round tees off on Sunday, Grant Thornton will host a business forum on the economic impact of sports with Jaguars CFO Kelly Flanagan, PGA of America President Suzy Whaley and Olympic consultant Terrence Burns. All in all, Grant Thornton feels right at home at TPC Sawgrass. "We felt like the premier nature of The Players Championship was where we wanted to be," Tarver said. "It's often called the fifth major and we are a challenger brand. … We've got arguably the best tournament that the PGA Tour offers, so it was really a bit of a no-brainer for us to want to land in Ponte Vedra."

Riot Games co-Founder Marc Merrill talked about his varied career path on Mixergy's “Startup Stories” podcast: “I wanted to have a career that I thought was meaningful and where I enjoyed going to work and I loved what I did. I’m the type of person that has a lot of interests.”

PARTNERING UP: AEG Global Partnerships Dir of Digital Media Matt Lawler appeared on Neil Horowitz' “Digital and Social Media Podcast,” where he talked about his focus on "bringing really engaged audiences to our content.” Lawler said a big objective is to “bring brands to those audiences.”

DOWN UNDER: The Australia-based “Kingsgrove Sports Centre” podcast featured the co-hosts discussing the ‘20 Women's T20 ICC World Cup, the coronavirus' effect on sports and some lighthearted riffing on President Trump's pronunciation of Indian cricket legends.

Know of a podcast we should keep tabs on? Send an email to pbounds@sportsbusinessdaily.com. Also, check out SBJ's podcast home.

The Big 12 Conference and Academy Sports + Outdoors announced a multiyear partnership that includes the first title sponsorship of the Big 12 Football Media Days. Bespoke was Academy's agency on the deal (THE DAILY).

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry’s "biggest annual event, was canceled Wednesday because of concerns about the coronavirus epidemic" (N.Y. POST, 3/11).

NYRA named Levy the food and beverage provider at Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course (NYRA).

"I played in an empty building for a couple years in Florida, so I'm used to it" -- Golden Knights RW Reilly Smith, on the prospect of of playing in an empty arena due to coronavirus. Smith played with the Panthers in the '15-16 and '16-17 NHL seasons (TWITTER.com, 3/11).

“We enjoyed it” -- Lakers F Kyle Kuzma, when asked what it was like having no media in the locker room because of coronavirus fears (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 3/11).

“I can’t believe U.S. Soccer actually put these arguments on paper” -- CBS’ Anthony Mason, on documents saying U.S. Soccer claims the USWNT should not be paid as much as the men’s team because the men’s team “carries more responsibility” (“CBS This Morning,” 3/11).

#CBJ director of communications Todd Sharrock says there will be a way for ticket holders who choose not to come to games because of virus fears to get refunds or exchanges. Team is in the process of reaching out to season ticket holders.

— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) March 11, 2020

A shout-out this morning to the ever civic-minded #Isles, doing their part to make sure no germ-carrying crowds walk into Nassau Coliseum at all this spring.

— Mike Vaccaro (@MikeVacc) March 11, 2020

The @FDSportsbook at Motor City Casino launches tomorrow in Detroit. Barry Sanders will make the first bet.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 11, 2020

Big Ten Tournament is going on as planned with full fan attendance, the league announces. Media access will altered — switched from open locker room access to players made available "in larger designated areas."

— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 11, 2020

The Charlotte Hornets are in a fascinating spot. Lakers come to town next Saturday for the only time this season, which means $ for the home team. 1 NBA team will play w/o fans this week. Only 7 known cases of CV19 in NC right now, all 2 hours away.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 11, 2020

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

Video platform Quibi rolled out this preview for the web series "I Promise," which is executive produced by LeBron James and offers a closer look at his founding of the I Promise school in Cleveland.

NASCAR Driver Austin Dillon will appear on CBS' "Seal Team" at 9:00pm ET.

Former boxer Laila Ali appears as herself on CBS' "S.W.A.T." at 10:00pm.

6 -- Regular-season home games remaining for the Penguins, who today said that they will "go ahead with home games in front of fans" at PPG Paints Arena (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/11).