By Lauren Kirschman

The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)

The Pac-12 has canceled all conference and non-conference sports competitions and Pac-12 championships through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year.

The decision — a response to the COVID-19 outbreak — was made during a meeting of the Pac-12 CEO Group and athletic directors earlier today and follows an earlier decision to suspend all sports until further notice. On Thursday, the NCAA canceled the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships.

The decision will affect 14 UW teams: Baseball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s rowing, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s and women’s track and field. The softball team is currently ranked No. 2 in the country, while the gymnastics team is No. 11.

On Friday, the NCAA released a statement regarding eligibility for spring sports athletes. It read: “Council leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports. Details of eligibility relief will be finalized at a later time. Additional issues with NCAA rules must be addressed, and appropriate governance bodies will work through those in the coming days and weeks.”

The Pac-12 also suspended all organized team athletically-related activities, such as meetings and practices, until at least March 29, at which time the decision will be revisited. The University of Washington had already suspended all athletically-related events through the winter quarter and spring break on March 29. The athletic department said Thursday it would reassess the situation at the start of the spring quarter on March 30.

The Huskies’ pro day is currently scheduled for March 31 with spring football practice scheduled to begin on April 1. The spring football game and fan fest is scheduled for April 25.