VERMILLION, S.D.—NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men's and women's 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships.
 
Shortly before the NCAA's announcement, Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple announced the suspension of all non-conference and conference competitions for all league members, home and away, through March 30 effective immediately.
 
These announcements affect a number of Coyote teams and student-athletes. Most notably, South Dakota's nationally-ranked women's basketball program had qualified for the NCAA Tournament with a 30-2 record. It also directly affected five student-athletes preparing to compete in this week's NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship Meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
 
Home events scheduled for March included South Dakota softball's three-game series with North Dakota slated for March 28-29.
 
South Dakota students are currently on Spring Break, and that break was extended through Friday, March 20, by the South Dakota Board of Regents.
 
A statement from South Dakota Athletic Director David Herbster follows:
 
"The events that have transpired over the last 2-3 days certainly culminated into what we saw today, which frankly puts us in unprecedented unchartered waters. We started with the University extending Spring Break a week, moved into basketball tournaments all around the country ending competition today, to the Summit League suspending all outside competition through the end of the month. Then, we ran into the NCAA canceling all winter and spring championships for the year.
 
"These types of decisions don't come lightly. I completely understand the reason why we're doing this in the interest of public safety, not only for our student-athletes and coaches, but for the fans and parents who may be in attendance.
 
"I can't disregard the disappointment that our student-athletes are feeling right now. Our track team was in the middle of practicing for the indoor championships, women's basketball just completed a historic run in the Summit League to earn their right to the NCAA Tournament, and now they can't experience that.
 
"Nothing's going to take away what they accomplished this year – the joy, the satisfaction and the accomplishments. But it certainly leaves loose ends hanging out there.
 
"We need to value the decision makers and leaders who made these decisions and the thoughts that went into it, but also make sure we appreciate the value of the competition our student-athletes were in, and support them during this time.
 
"We will continue to work with NCAA, conference, university and state leaders to determine our next steps and that will be charted on a day-by-day basis. Until then, our primary goal will never change, and that is taking care of our student-athletes and providing them every opportunity and every resource to be successful in or out of competition.