MIAA title games canceled.

The MIAA has decided to cancel all of its championship games this weekend because of the coronavirus crisis. Eight basketball games, including the Foxboro vs. Taconic Division 2 girls' championship, were to have been contested in Worcester this weekend, as well as the hockey championships in Boston.

Regarding the basketball games, discussions took place earlier today between representatives of the MIAA and the DCU Center, the primary hosting site. It's not known if alternative sites were sought where the games could have been played without fans present, but the MIAA waited until just before 5 p.m. to announce the outcome of those negotiations.

I can't say for a fact if other high-profile cancellations played a role in the decision, but it appears likely. In short order, the New Hampshire state high school association canceled its championship games, the Big East Conference stopped its annual tournament in the middle of play of its first game at Madison Square Garden, and Patriot League canceled its tournament. Then the NCAA took the unprecedented step of totally canceling March Madness for its men's and women's teams. The National Hockey League also followed the lead of the National Basketball Association and suspended its season, and Major League Baseball canceled the rest of spring training and will put off the start of its regular season as well.

The optics surely would have looked bad for the MIAA had it proceeded with its tournaments in light of the cascading panic overtaking the nation.

According to reports, Foxboro (24-2) will be regarded in the record books as a co-champion with Taconic (22-2). Other semifinalists will share the same distinction.

I'll have more thoughts about this circumstance in a later blog post.