IRVINE, Calif. — The Big West Conference announced Tuesday afternoon that this week's men's and women's basketball tournament will proceed without spectators as a precaution for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

This week's UC Davis Intercollegiate Athletics events — which includes beach volleyball and lacrosse on Wednesday (March 11), track and field and gymnastics on Friday (March 13), track, beach volleyball, and softball on Saturday (March 14), as well as softball and lacrosse on Sunday (March 15) — are continuing as scheduled.

The department is working directly with campus leadership as they and public health officials continue to monitor the situation. Up-to-date information on COVID-19 from campus can be found here: http://ucdavis.edu/Coronavirus.

The Big West Tournament begins with women's first-round and quarterfinal games at the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State on Tuesday (March 10) and Wednesday (March 11), respectively, with the men's tournament opening play on Thursday (March 12) with the quarterfinal round at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Fans will not be allowed into either venue. Full refunds for ticket purchases will be available from their respective points of purchase.

The UC Davis men's team is scheduled to open the tournament on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. against Hawai'i, while the women will face an opponent to be determined in the semifinals on Friday at Noon. Both games, as well as any subsequent contests at the tournament, will be streamed live on ESPN3.com or the ESPN app, as well as over the airwaves on KHTK 1140 AM for the men and KDVS 90.3 FM for the women.