Ball State to play in hoops tourneys with no fans in stands

CLEVELAND (WISH) — Fans from Ball State University and other Mid-American Conference schools cannot attend the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments following the Ohio governor’s call Tuesday to restrict attendance at all sporting events.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday afternoon that all indoor sports events in Ohio — from high school to professional — will continue without spectators in attendance as the state seeks to contain COVID-19.

The conference said Tuesday that the tournaments will run as scheduled Wednesday through Saturday, but only credentialed personnel from the schools, family members of student-athletes, credentialed news media and official team party members will be allowed to attend.

All tickets for the tournaments will receive either a credit toward the 2021 tournaments or a full refund. Fan can call their athletics departments beginning Wednesday or the Rocket Mortage FieldHouse box office at 216-420-2200.

Ohio high school tournaments in basketball, wrestling and ice hockey also are affected by the governor’s announcement.

Also on Tuesday, the Big West said its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Southern California will be played without spectators, according to The Associated Press. Most of those game will be played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

In addition, the Ivy League canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, AP said. The Ivy League instead will award its automatic NCAA Tournament bids to the regular-season champions, the Princeton women and Yale men.