The MIAA basketball tournaments will not be played in Kansas City this season.
The conference announced Thursday, due to COVID-19 restrictions regarding indoor events in the city, the postseason tournaments will not be played at Municipal Auditorium.
"While we are disappointed that we had to make this decision, we do look forward to returning to Kansas City for the 2022 Championships at Municipal Auditorium," MIAA commissioner Mike Racy said.
The conference tournaments will go on as scheduled, but all three rounds of the eight-team brackets will be played on campus sites.
The top four men's and women's teams will host seed Nos. 5-8 in the first round. The higher-seeded teams will continue to host games during the semifinals and championship games.
"I think all of us right now in the league are just happy with the fact that the league is still planning to have a tournament, in the midst of everything going on," Lincoln athletic director John Moseley said. "I'm a supporter of this."
Through Thursday's games, the Lincoln men at 6-3 and would have the No. 4 seed in the tournament, if the season ended today. The women are 0-11 and would be one of the six teams to miss the tournament if the season ended today.
According to the MIAA, the tournament brackets will be released Feb. 27. Since not all 14 teams will likely be able to play all 22 games due to COVID-19, a weighted formula will be implemented to determine seeding.
"We're more than capable of being a top-four team in this league," said Moseley, who is also the men's basketball coach. "You want to have the opportunity to host the first round, it's a huge deal for us.
"But there's a lot of basketball to be played between now and then."