The Indiana’s men’s basketball game scheduled for Wednesday night at Assembly Hall has been canceled due to a COVID-19 protocols within the UNC Asheville program.
"As we continue to navigate the challenges of the pandemic, we are disappointed for both programs, but we will always put the health and safety of our student-athletes, staff and fans as our top priority," IU athletic Scott Dolson said in a press release.
The game will not be rescheduled. Those with tickets to the game will be notified by the IU ticket office.
It’s the first game the men’s program has had canceled this season due to the pandemic. The IU women had a game Dec. 21 game against Wright State canceled by a COVID outbreak among the Wright State players and staff.
College and professional sports have been affected by the increase in positive cases, mainly due to the omicron variant sweeping across the globe.
Tuesday, the Big Ten announced it had revised its COVID-19 policy regarding conference games.
Now, according to a league press release, if a school cannot field a team of at least seven scholarship players and one coach, the game will be rescheduled. If that is not possible, the game will be declared a no-contest.
If a team cannot reasonably demonstrate why it can't meet those requirements, the game will be forfeited.
“The conference office and all 14 Big Ten member institutions have been in continuous contact about developments related to COVID-19,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in the release. “The well-being of our student-athletes and our entire athletic communities is our top priority and we are updating our forfeiture policy to support their health and safety as well as the integrity of conference competition.”
With Wednesday's cancellation, the Hoosiers have only conference games remaining on their schedule.
Indiana’s next game is Sunday at Penn State. That game tips off at 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
