The National Junior College Athletic Association announced Monday that it has canceled the upcoming national basketball tournaments and all spring sports due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision ends the season for Pima's women's basketball team, which was scheduled to travel to Port Huron, Michigan later this month. The Aztecs were a No. 7 seed in nationals.
Pima women's basketball coach Todd Holthaus said his players and staff were "crushed" by the news of the cancelation. The NJCAA initially moved the tournament from March 17 to April 20.
"Like all the other teams that didn't get to compete, we feel like we didn't get to complete our story," Holthaus said. "That being said, life is precious and we all know that there are bigger concerns."
Holthaus called the team special, saying he knows they "would've turned some heads in Michigan."
The NJCAA said in a statement that the "difficult decision" was based on recent guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
"As an association, the NJCAA exhausted all possible avenues to potentially postpone competition for both upcoming basketball championships and spring sport competition," said Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President & CEO. "We believe following the recommendations of the CDC is in the best interest of our member colleges and our student-athletes."
The NJCAA's cancelation includes all practices, regular season, postseason and national championship play. All on and off-campus recruiting for any sport will be suspended until April 15, and reevaluated at that time.
The NJCAA said that student-athletes competing in spring sports will receive an extra year of eligibility.
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