Warren said that the Big Ten tournament was canceled so late because he was trying to reach school officialsgetty images
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said that he "wrestled for weeks with how -- or if -- the men’s basketball conference tournament should proceed" before ultimately deciding to cancel the tournament less than a half-hour before it was scheduled to tip off Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, according to Shannon Ryan of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Warren said that canceling the tournament so close to tipoff was "due to trying to reach all Big Ten chancellors, presidents and athletic directors before announcing the decision to players and the public" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/13). In Detroit, James Hawkins notes as he "continued to rely on information and guidance from individuals in the conference, Warren said it 'became crystal clear' to him what needed to be done." Warren: "This is one of those situations there were a lot of people who were telling me, 'I don't know.' I get concerned when I hear, 'I don't know,' a few many times" (DETROIT NEWS, 3/13).
VOICE OF REASON IN THE ACC: In Raleigh Luke DeCock writes Duke President Vincent Price "was the only one" among ACC powerbrokers "who would put his foot down and say 'no.'" That proceeding with the ACC Tournament "was the wrong move" and that going ahead was "not only unwise but unfathomable." Price said that Duke "wouldn’t come to the arena" for its 3:00pm ET game against NC State, which was the decision ACC Commissioner John Swofford and the other 14 presidents and the governor "all refused to make." That is what changed between 9:30am Thursday, when Swofford announced that the tournament "would go on in an empty building," and when Florida State was "pulled off the floor amid a barrage of cancellations." Price "jolted the ACC into action" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/13). In Charlotte, Andrew Carter notes when Swofford spoke Thursday morning, he said that he had "been on the phone with the commissioners from the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC" and that all of them had been working together to "understand what they faced." The way Swofford spoke, it "sounded like those leaders had reached a consensus, and formed solidarity." But then, while he "stood on the court not long after noon, he said those same presidents had finally come to a different decision" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/13).
COMMON SENSE PREVAILS IN SEC: Georgia AD Greg McGarity, when asked what changed between Wednesday night with the plan to continue playing the SEC Tournament and Thursday morning, when the event was cancelled, said, "What changed is the NBA now has two players confirmed with the virus." He added, "We saw a wave of other decisions being made to suspend play in other places. I think the evidence was overwhelming that was what needed to happen and that’s where we ended up.” McGarity also said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey "did a great job of information-gathering and communicating with other conference commissioners and the NCAA, so we were able to have a lot of information in one place and everybody there to discuss it face-to-face and make informed decisions" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/13). Sankey, on if his decision was made in consultation with other conference and league commissioners, said, "We obviously have common issues to talk about on a regular basis, but our communication has accelerated." He added, "We've all made independent decisions, but as I talk about best available decision based on best available information, that collaboration helps provide better and best available information. We all had to go back to our own boards and act independently. We did that" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 3/13). In Nashville, Gentry Estes writes Sankey "had no choice." Had the SEC pushed ahead yesterday, there was a "chance that some teams might have refused to take the court" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 3/13).
BIG EAST DELAY: SI.com's Laken Litman noted the Big East was "criticized for playing a half of basketball" yesterday at MSG "instead of cancelling earlier in the day." Commissioner Val Ackerman said that she was told N.Y. was "planning to bring directives related to large gatherings" like other cities and states, but "once she obtained that information, St. John's and Creighton had already tipped off." Instead of stopping play mid-half, Ackerman said that she "quickly mobilized a conference call with league presidents and athletic directors and made the decision to cancel the rest of the tournament beginning at halftime" (SI.com, 3/12). In Memphis, Mark Giannotto writes the AAC "canceled its conference tournament a little more than an hour before it was set to begin, right as it appeared almost every other league in the country decided to do the same" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 3/13).
ECONOMIC DAMAGE: In Atlanta, Eric Jackson noted the Atlanta Basketball Host Committee "started actively laying down the groundwork for the Final Four over two years ago," but their work was "halted Wednesday night with the uncertainty surrounding the tournament." Exec Dir Carl Adkins said that the committee "spoke with officials at Georgia State (GSU Sports Arena), Georgia Tech (McCamish Pavilion) as well as State Farm Arena about potentially moving the semifinals and national championship game to those venue," adding that his team was "steadily coordinating with the NCAA up until the final hours" before the tournament was cancelled yesterday. Jackson noted NCAA officials were planning to "break the all-time Final Four attendance record with nearly 80,000 fans projected for the semifinal games" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/12).
BIG LOSS FOR MOTOR CITY: In Detroit, Rainer Sabin notes eight amateur sporting events were "scheduled to take place Greater Detroit," including the of the Frozen Four, NCAA men's and women's fencing championships and the NCAA women's bowling championships. Detroit Sports Commission Senior VP Dave Beachnau said that the financial impact of the cancellations is "expected to cost 'in the $10 million range'" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/13).
