The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has announced that the Division I and II men's and women's basketball championships have been postponed because of developments regarding COVID-19.
The Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) men's basketball team has qualified for the Division II national tournament and is the No. 2 seed. The tournament was scheduled to be played March 17 to 21 at Danville, Ill., and has tentatively been rescheduled for April 20 to 25.
"Due to the concerns surrounding the safety and security of our student-athletes and those involved with Division I and Division II NJCAA championships, we are postponing the tournaments and maintaining a fluid mentality to see these tournaments take place with a tentative start date," NJCAA President and CEO Dr. Christopher Parker said in a press release from the NJCAA. "We have two main objectives in this situation - first and foremost is to protect the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, college personnel and fans. Second is to make sure our student-athletes receive the national championship experience they have worked so hard for."
NJCAA officials said the start dates for each of the respective tournaments are tentative and that the organization will continue to follow all state and local mandates, restrictions and regulations as it impacts its member institutions and national championship events.
If or when the NJCAA Division II National Championship is played, DMACC, ranked fifth in the final regular season Division II poll, will take a 29-4 record against 15th-seeded Essex Community College (ECC) from Newark, N.J. The Wolverines are 19-6 and are not ranked, but have received votes in the poll.
The DMACC baseball is scheduled to play Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) in a doubleheader today at the DMACC baseball diamond. DMACC athletics director B.J. McGinn said this morning that those games are still on, adding that a softball tournament March 14 in Fayetteville, Ark., involving the DMACC softball team has been been cancelled.