The Big Ten Conference announced today that all organized team activities have been suspended until April 6, 2020, and will be re-evaluated at that time.

The Big Ten has previously announced that in addition to canceling the Men’s Basketball Tournament it will be canceling all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year, and participation in all NCAA tournaments and competitions. The Conference also has announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.

The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward earned the most in the NFL’s performance-based pay program, getting an additional $654,750 out of an overall pot of just under $148 million. Ward, who was not selected in the 2018 draft, received nearly 15%t more than his 2019 salary of the league minimum for second-year players ($570,000). He started all 16 games during Chiefs’ championship season, playing in nearly 95% of the Chiefs’ defensive plays, as well as almost 26% of the special teams plays.

UNDATED (AP) — Facing criticism for coaching his team when he was not feeling well Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg wrote in a social media post he would not have been on the bench if he knew his presence could expose others to illness. Hoiberg wrote on Twitter that he would never do anything that would put his team, family or anyone else in harm’s way. Hoiberg was taken to an Indianapolis hospital after he left Wednesday night’s 89-64 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament. Hoiberg was diagnosed with influenza-A, which the school characterized as a “common cold” in a news release.

NEW YORK (AP) — In one of the stranger sports developments, Creighton and St. John’s played 20 minutes of hotly contested basketball Thursday afternoon in a mostly empty Madison Square Garden. Then the Big East Conference called off the rest of its postseason tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic. Only a few hundred fans were on hand as part of the restricted attendance policy. By the time some of them were able to grab a drink or return from the restroom, TV broadcasters had announced the rest of the tournament was scrapped. Moments later, word came over the public address system. And fans soon filed for the exits.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournaments shook the nation. But more than two dozen other men’s and women’s championships won’t be contested this winter and spring, either, and that doesn’t include all the sports in Divisions II and III. The NCAA decision to cancel winter and spring sports championships means the College World Series will not be held for the first time in since 1946. The Division I baseball championship is the NCAA’s No. 2 revenue producer and has been held in Omaha every year since 1950. The NCAA said the decision was based on the public health threat posed by the coronavirus.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s 2020 State Basketball Tournament will play Friday’s games with spectator restrictions due to increasing concern of the spread and impact of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The consolations and finals set for Friday, March 13 at Wells Fargo Arena will be played as currently scheduled. The IHSAA will provide additional updates to this strategy should they be necessary. Thursday’s games will continue as scheduled and are currently without spectator restriction.

The IHSAA has coordinated with health officials, state and local government, and Iowa Events Center throughout this week’s event, with updated guidance requiring these measures.

Only team members, game officials, essential tournament workers, Iowa Events Center staff, limited credentialed media, and select school spectators (see below) will be allowed inside the facility. Those spectators will be asked to leave the facility once their game is complete.

Other spectators and previously scheduled award recipients and visitors will not be permitted.

The IHSAA acknowledges these updates are inconvenient and unprecedented. The understanding of member schools and communities is sincerely appreciated.

The remaining games will be available to view through the Iowa High School Sports Network’s coverage. The IHSSN has television coverage for semifinals and finals, free live streaming, and a free downloadable app to view the games. Visit ihssn.com/basketball or ihssn.com/live for viewing information.

The IHSAA staff will also provide frequent updates on the games through its website and social media platforms.

Spectators who purchased tickets in advance of Friday’s games at Wells Fargo Arena will be refunded at the point of purchase.

The IHSAA will continue working with health officials to determine adjustments or preventative measures for the upcoming spring sports seasons. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Team & Family Spectator Information

Each of Friday’s participating schools will be allowed up to 100 total entrants, free of charge.  The 100 total include the official team traveling party. The IHSAA recommends these entrants are immediate family members of your traveling party.

Participating schools are required to submit a list of names for those attending.

School administrators should send those lists in one document to ttharp@iahsaa.org before their games and bring printed copies upon check-in. Spectators will be checked in as a group 30 minutes prior to tipoff at the north entrance of Wells Fargo Arena.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., March 12, 2020 – Following the official statement from Major League Baseball this afternoon, the St. Louis Cardinals are making contingency plans and proactively monitoring the Coronavirus situation.

This afternoon, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. announced the cancellation of Spring Training games for all 30 Clubs, along with at least a two-week delay to the start of 2020 Opening Day.

“From the beginning of this uncertain, global pandemic, we have emphasized the safety of our fans, players and staff,” said Bill DeWitt Jr., Chairman and CEO. “We are supportive of the decision by MLB, which allows us additional time to navigate this evolving situation and prioritize the safety of everyone.”

One of those guidelines involves the creation of an internal task force, which the Cardinals have already established. The task force includes stakeholders from across the organization—including representatives from Baseball Operations, Ticket Sales and Marketing, Corporate Sales, Communications, Special Events and Merchandising, Finance and Administration and Human Resources.

The internal task force, led by Vice President of Stadium Operations, Matt Gifford, will implement guidelines from the league, review updates from local and state health departments and communicate important messages on behalf of the Club.

“This developing situation is, and has always been fluid,” said John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations. “At this time, spring training camps in Jupiter remain open for player workouts and training, but our practice fields and facility will be closed to the public.”

Mozeliak added, “We have been communicating as much as we can with our players, fans, and employees up to this point, and are taking direction from the MLB Commissioner’s Office while we analyze our next steps from all angles.”

“We anticipate fans will have questions about their ticket purchases for those first two weeks, as well as for future games,” said Joe Strohm, Vice President of Ticket Sales. “At this time, we are still working through our approach to handling ticketing issues, and will be communicating the details to fans soon.”

Following a call with the 30 Clubs, and after consultation with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. today announced that MLB has decided to suspend Spring Training games and to delay the start of the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks due to the national emergency created by the coronavirus pandemic.  This action is being taken in the interests of the safety and well-being of our players, Clubs and our millions of loyal fans.

MLB will continue to evaluate ongoing events leading up to the start of the season.  Guidance related to daily operations and workouts will be relayed to Clubs in the coming days.  As of 4:00 p.m. (ET) today, forthcoming Spring Training games have been cancelled, and 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifier games in Tucson, Arizona have been postponed indefinitely.

MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule.  MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our players, employees and fans.  MLB will continue to undertake the precautions and best practices recommended by public health experts.  We send our best wishes to all individuals and communities that have been impacted by coronavirus.

Class 1A Consolations

Bishop Garrigan 66, West Fork, Sheffield 52

Wapsie Valley, Fairbank 57, Montezuma 42

Class 2A Consolations

Boyden-Hull 64, Camanche 49

North Linn, Troy Mills 79, Treynor 58

Class 3A Semifinals

Norwalk 79, Ballard 61

Sergeant Bluff-Luton 55, Clear Creek-Amana 46

Class 4A Semifinals

Ankeny 68, Iowa City West 54

Cedar Falls 64, Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 62

Friday’s Schedule, March 13

Class 3A Consolation

10:20 a.m.—#5 Ballard (19-7) vs. #7 Clear Creek-Amana (20-6)

Class 4A Consolation

11:55 a.m.—#1 Ankeny Centennial (24-2) vs. #2 Cedar Falls (22-3)

Class 1A Championship

2:00 p.m.—#2 Bishop Garrigan, Algona (24-2) vs. #8 Wapsie Valley, Fairbank (20-7)

Class 2A Championship

3:45 p.m.—#1 Boyden-Hull (23-3) vs. #3 North Linn, Troy Mills (26-0)

Class 3A Championship

6:35 p.m.—#1 Norwalk (23-3) vs. #6 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (16-10)

8:35 p.m.—#4 Waukee (23-2) vs. #6 Ankeny (20-5)

All five Power Five conferences have canceled their basketball tournaments, putting the NCAA Tournament in doubt.

The Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC and Pac-12 conferences were all preparing to play games in large arenas across the country, but with few people in the buildings.

The NCAA had announced Wednesday that it planned to play its men’s and women’s tournament games that start next week with restricted access for the general public. The NCAA said only essential staff and limited family members would be allowed to attend the games.

The men’s NCAA Tournament is one of the most popular events on the American sports calendar. March Madness draws hundreds of thousands of fans to arenas from coast to coast.

Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 12

Game 3: No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5 Texas Tech | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2
Game 4: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 5: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 7 TCU | 6 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 6: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 West Virginia | 8 p.m. | ESPN2

The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday evening that beginning Thursday, March 12, 2020, attendance at all Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament games will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

Additionally, all further Big Ten Conference winter and spring sport competitions, including championship/tournament events, will also be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and media as we continue to monitor all relevant information on the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis.

It is important that any person attending a Big Ten sporting event consult the following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/high-risk-complications.html.

Second round — Thursday, March 12
Game 3: No. 8 Rutgers vs. No. 9 Michigan | 11:00 a.m.
Game 4: No. 5 Iowa vs. No. 12 Minnesota | ~1:25 p.m. – ON KJAN
Game 5: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Purdue | 5:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 Indiana | ~7:55 p.m.