FAYETTEVILLE — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday extended the time frame that it recommends sporting events be closed to the public.
The latest guideline from the CDC recommends that large mass gatherings, which it defines as more than 50 people, be canceled or postponed for at least eight weeks to slow the spread of coronavirus. Exemptions would be made for schools and businesses.
If sporting leagues act in accordance with the CDC recommendation, it would bar fans from attending - and potentially keep suspended - sporting events well into the month of May.
All major U.S. professional and college sports are on hiatus until at least next month. The NBA and NHL have suspended their seasons, and MLB postponed its opening day.
The coronavirus pandemic has also affected some of the biggest events on the national sports calendar. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament known as March Madness, scheduled to begin Tuesday, was canceled, and The Masters has been indefinitely postponed. The latest CDC recommendation could disrupt another popular spring event, the Kentucky Derby, scheduled for May 2.
In Arkansas the virus has canceled sporting events on all college campuses, forced Oaklawn Park to race without fans, and the Arkansas Activities Association has suspended high school competition through March 30. The start of the baseball seasons for the minor league Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Arkansas Travelers has been suspended indefinitely.
“Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene and social distancing,” the CDC’s guideline said.
All games are suspended at the University of Arkansas until at least April 15, as are all practices by the Razorbacks’ 19 teams. Those suspensions were put in place by the SEC, which said it will reassess its policy by April 15.
On Sunday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement expressing his surprise in how quickly events have evolved since the middle of last week, when the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament was canceled after one day. The SEC Tournament championship game would have been played Sunday, followed by the selection show for the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, networks filled their air time with game replays from past seasons throughout the weekend, and most college athletes were away from their teammates to be in accordance with individual conference mandates.
“Needless to say, this is an unprecedented experience for us all,” Sankey said. “We take very seriously each decision made related to coronavirus/covid-19. We all care about sports, but we care more deeply about the people involved in our sports. For them, I can only imagine the shock, disappointment, anger and frustration that comes from learning your season, your championship, your opportunity to be with your team, and your desire to pursue your passion have been disrupted.
“For our fans, thank you for your loyalty during these extraordinary times. And, please know the leadership of the Southeastern Conference, including myself, our presidents and chancellors and the SEC’s athletics directors, will consider carefully the manner in which we move forward.”
In a tweet, Sankey said decisions are “being made with the best available information as a guide.”
Asked Friday whether the NCAA’s covid-19 advisory panel is informing Sankey’s decision making, UA athletics director Hunter Yurachek said, “I would tell you I believe Commissioner Sankey is using other sources. There’s not been a great deal of communication, to my knowledge, between conference offices and the NCAA.”
The NCAA has canceled all of its winter and spring championship events, while most conferences have officially canceled all sport seasons through the end of the spring semester, including those sports like baseball that extend into the summer months. The SEC is one of two power conferences - the ACC is the other - to remain in a state of suspended play.