Big 12 Tournament cancelled due to Coronavirus

Commissioner Bob Bowlsby announces the cancellation at a morning press conference.

John E. Hoover | Mar 12, 2020

Big 12 Tournament cancelled due to Coronavirus /

Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby one Thursday announced the cancellation of the remainder of the men's and women's basketball tournaments in Kansas City.

"We obviously have canceled the tournament," Bowlsby said.

Bowlsby said once the mayor of Kansas City declared a state of emergency, "it hastened our discussions."

Two games were played on Wednesday, with Oklahoma State beating Iowa State and Kansas State defeating TCU.

Thursday's second round session was moments from tipping off when Texas and Texas Tech players were taken off the floor and a press conference was announced for 11 a.m. CT.

No. 3 seed Oklahoma was scheduled to play West Virginia at 8 p.m. Thursday.

The women's tournament was scheduled to tip off Thursday.

"Hard to tell if there will be an NCAA Tournament to play in," Bowlsby said.

The NCAA announced Monday that postseason tournament games would be played but without fan attendance.

Bowlsby said it's disappointing for players who were playing in their final Big 12 Tournament.

"It's disappointing," he said. "It's heartbreaking."

Bowlsby also said he feels "good that we've made the right decisions for the right reasons, but I also have a real sense of loss for the seniors. I think it's emblematic of the circumstances we find ourselves in. It's coast to coast. It's border to border."

The Big 12 also announced the suspension of all conference championships until April 15, at which time future events would be evaluated. That includes the upcoming gymnastics and equestrian championships.

Published Mar 12, 2020

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.