Report: Harvard Hockey To Forfeit Postseason Series Due To Coronavirus Concern

BOSTON (CBS) -- As the sports world debates how to work around the threats of spreading the coronavirus, the Harvard hockey team is eliminating all chances.

According to multiple reports on Wednesday, Harvard has ended its 2019-20 season, forfeiting the remainder of the season and postseason.

Harvard had been scheduled to partake in the ECAC tournament this upcoming weekend, a quarterfinal best-of-three series at Rensselaer. That series will no longer be happening.

Notably, the games at RPI were scheduled to take place without any fans in attendance, according to Harvard's information page. Nevertheless, Harvard has called off the competition entirely.

The news comes a day after the Ivy League canceled its men's and women's basketball tournaments, which had been scheduled for this upcoming weekend at Harvard.

Harvard University has also instructed students to move off campus by Sunday, opting to shift all classes online for the remainder of the semester. Those decisions were made before Harvard said that two members of the community are being tested for coronavirus.

The move is merely the most recent in what figures to be a common occurrence in the coming days and weeks. The Golden State Warriors will become the first professional team to play in an arena without fans when they host the Nets on Thursday night in San Francisco.

Shortly after word of Harvard's decision broke, the Ivy League announced that "all spring athletics practice and competition through the remainder of the academic year" have been canceled. The statement said that with classes moving online, the holding of practices and games was unfeasible.

Elsewhere in college hockey, Hockey East announced that all quarterfinal games in the Hockey East tournament will be played in arenas without spectators.

In:
• NCAA College Sports
• Coronavirus
• Harvard