As the playoffs approach, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has announced that a limited number of guests will be permitted to attend the MAAC Championships for men’s and women’s basketball.  

However, tickets will not be sold to the public. In compliance with New Jersey COVID-19 restrictions, the arena can host 10% of its overall capacity. As a result, tickets are only being offered to a limited number of friends and family of the athletes and staff.  

While fans were not allowed during regular season play, this decision comes as the championship venue has a much larger capacity than a campus arena to safely accommodate fans. The MAAC basketball tournament was moved to Atlantic City, N.J., last season, so this will be the first event in the Boardwalk Hall since the pandemic halted last year’s tournament play.  

The new policy will still adhere to COVID-19 safety measures such as social distancing and face coverings. The venue will be thoroughly disinfected prior to gameplay.  

The pandemic has provided new challenges for athletics, as both Iona basketball programs have been forced to temporarily halt gameplay throughout the season due to a positive coronavirus test result. Head Coach Rick Pitino expressed the difficulty of having to stop and start training, as athletes need to rebuild conditioning and strength each time coming out of quarantine, which can stop training for two weeks at a time. As a result, he mentioned that this process led to increased injuries and setbacks among the team. 

Most recently, the men’s program announced they would not be finishing their regular season after coming back from a two-month long hiatus. Meanwhile, the women’s program has been able to finish out regular season MAAC play with a split record.  

Both programs are set to return for championship play. The MAAC tournament is scheduled to take place from March 8 to March 13 with the games broadcast on ESPN+ for the public.