Men's Basketball | 3.12.2020 at 12:00 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Out of an abundance of caution, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has canceled all winter championships, the national office announced Thursday morning (March 12).
"The health and safety of our student-athletes, as well as all involved in our championship events, is the NAIA's highest priority," the official memo stated. "We will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments and NAIA leadership will work closely with our member institutions to determine the best path forward for future NAIA events, including all spring 2020 championships."
That means the John Brown University men's basketball season comes to a close, with the Golden Eagles boasting a 28-5 record, which matched the program's single-season program win total, set back in the 2012-13 season. That edition of the Golden Eagles finished 28-7 and made an appearance in the National Championships Round of 16, before falling to eventual champion, Georgetown (Ky.).
"Obviously, we're extremely disappointed that this has to happen," head coach Jason Beschta admitted. "We're in the middle of such a special and historic year for JBU men's basketball, and this group has accomplished some incredible things. Like the other 31 teams, we were looking forward to making a deep run in the tournament, but this won't take away way we did accomplish this season. I'm saddened for our seniors to have it end this way, but very thankful for the contributions they made this season and for the whole program's efforts in making 2019-20 such an incredible year."
