St. John’s vs. Butler game canceled over COVID issues for Red Storm
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Thursday night’s St. John’s men’s basketball game vs. Butler University has been canceled due to the coronavirus.
The game was to be played in Queens, New York.
A news release from the Butler athletics department says:
“NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference has announced that the Butler at St. John’s game, which was scheduled for tonight, December 23, has been canceled due to COVID issues within the St. John’s program.
“Per the revised BIG EAST game cancellation policy announced earlier today, the Conference office will attempt to reschedule the game in accordance with the parameters of the policy.”
St. John’s athletic department issued a news release also:
“QUEENS, N.Y. – Thursday’s game between St. John’s and Butler scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena has been postponed due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols within the Red Storm men’s basketball program.
“In accordance with revised BIG EAST policy released earlier today, the conference office will attempt to reschedule the game at a later date.
“Individuals holding tickets to Thursday’s game can attend the rescheduled game with Butler or exchange tickets for future games at Carnesecca Arena. For more information, please contact the St. John’s Ticket office at 1-888-GO-STORM or via email at redstormsports@stjohns.edu.”
The cancelation came after the Big East earlier Thursday announced a change to its game cancellation policy:
“NEW YORK (December 23, 2021) – The BIG EAST Conference today announced a modification to its game cancellation policy for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2021-22 season. The adjustment was the result of the recent sudden and significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally and within BIG EAST programs due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
“Under the modified policy, a Conference game will be canceled in the event a school has fewer than seven scholarship players and one countable coach available for a game. The BIG EAST Conference Office will attempt to reschedule any such game(s) in accordance with parameters approved by BIG EAST Directors of Athletics. In the event the rescheduling parameters cannot be fulfilled, the canceled game(s) will be designated as a no contest.
“To date, four BIG EAST men’s Conference games had been designated as forfeitures under the previous COVID-19 game cancellation policy. The forfeiture classification will be removed from these games, and efforts are now underway to reschedule them at a later date. No women’s games to date have been designated as forfeitures.
“The BIG EAST Conference, its member institutions and the Conference’s Health and Safety Working Group will continue to monitor the landscape and determine whether additional scheduling policy changes may be warranted in the future.”