From Eastern Head Coach Shantay Legans . . .
"This is an unprecedented situation and one where our first priority must undoubtedly be the health of our student-athletes and community at large. I fully support the Big Sky's decision to cancel the tournament, and I will continue to defer to the NCAA's leadership and our national experts in determining the proper course of action going forward. Go Eags!"
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From Eastern Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey . . .
"Of course we are very disappointed that play has been canceled, but the safety of our students, staff, and fans are much important than the tournament. We will fully support the directions and mandates we get from our leadership as we move forward. This was a championship season and it will always be remembered as a special year for this great group of coaches and students."
From the Big Sky Conference . . .
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Boise, Idaho (March 12, 2020) - The Big Sky Conference will cancel the remainder of its 2020 Basketball Championships, beginning with the men's quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday (March 12), the conference office announced today.
The Big Sky Presidents' Council convened Thursday morning and voted to move forward in this manner.
"This decision was not made lightly, as we know how meaningful our basketball championships is to our student-athletes, coaches, alumni, and fans," Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said. "After consulting with medical experts, local authorities, and the leadership of our institutions, we feel that this decision is prudent given the health and well-being of all involved.
"We would be remiss not to acknowledge all of our local partners who helped us increase the interest in and attendance at our tournament this year, and we look forward to welcoming those fans back when we return to Boise in March 2021."
The Big Sky and CenturyLink Arena will announce a refund policy soon and will contact fans who purchased tickets for the games that have been cancelled.
Other details will distributed as they are made available.
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