Yale men, Princeton women get automatic NCAA berths as Ivy League cancels tournament

The Ivy League on Tuesday cancelled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

The four-team tournaments were scheduled to be played Friday through Sunday at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge. The Ivy League instead will award its automatic NCAA Tournament bids to the regular-season champions, the Princeton women and Yale men.

The tournaments are the first at the Division I basketball level to be cancelled by the coronavirus outbreak.

Conference tournaments have been going on all over the country since last week at venues big and small. Most of the biggest conferences such as the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference begin their men’s tournaments this week at large arenas in major cities.

The NCAA men’s and women’s Division I Tournaments begin next week. The NCAA has said it plans to play its games at the planned sites as scheduled with no adjustments to fan access but is monitoring the situation.

The Ivy League also announced Tuesday it will limit spectators at all other sporting events for the rest of the spring season.

«It’s a bittersweet moment for us,» Yale spokesman Mike Gambardella said. «We’re happy our men will get an (automatic bid), but disappointed that our women won’t be able to compete for a championship.»

Spanish soccer league bars fans from games

La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Spanish league said on Tuesday.

The decision was taken in conjunction with the decision of the Spanish government’s sports council (CSD) that professional and non-professional sports events and competitions should take place behind closed doors.

The first match affected is the clash between Eibar and Real Sociedad later on Tuesday at Ipurua Municipal Stadium, a game already postponed from Feb. 16 because of air contamination.

If the measure is not extended, the next round of matches with supporters will take place on the weekend of April 4-5.

Celta Vigo midfielder Denis Suarez wrote on Twitter: «Reflection: We play for the fans. Does it make sense to play without them?»

The Spanish Football Federation said they would consider postponing the Copa del Rey final between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad on April 18 if matches still need to take place behind closed doors by that point.