Irvine, Calif. (February 22, 2021) – The Big West Conference announced Monday that the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, presented by the Hawaiian Islands, will be held without spectators, which includes the general public, as well as family and guests of team personnel.
 
Prior to the start of basketball competition, the Big West Board of Directors made the decision to start the season without fans in attendance and to revisit the issue as the season progressed. Keeping health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staff at the forefront of this policy, the difficult but necessary decision was made to forego fan attendance at this year’s event in Las Vegas.  
 
“When we began the season, the Big West Board of Directors were united in the view that mitigating risk and protecting the welfare of our student-athletes and coaches were paramount,” said Chair of the Big West Board of Directors and University of California, Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman. “In an environment with 19 teams in action, where one positive test can potentially eliminate several teams and end their dream of competing for a championship, the reluctant decision to play without fans was necessary to maintain the focus on health and safety.”
 
“This decision was made in the interest of protecting our teams in their pursuit of the NCAA Tournament and honoring the sacrifices they’ve made to get to this point,” Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly said. “Our families and fans are an important part of what makes Big West basketball so special but, after much deliberation, there was unanimous support for this course of action. We encourage everyone with a rooting interest in the Big West to download the digital game program and follow the action on the ESPN networks.”
 
The 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, presented by the Hawaiian Islands, will be held March 9-13 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena inside Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Fifteen games will be streamed on ESPN3. The men’s semifinals and championship game will be aired on ESPNU and ESPN2, respectively. ESPN3 is accessible on computers, smart phones, tablets and streaming devices through the ESPN app and ESPN.com. ESPN3 is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to those who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an authenticated TV provider.

About the Big West
The Big West Conference was formed in 1969 and is a member of NCAA Division I with 11 academically and athletically prominent institutions consisting of Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Hawai‘i, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara. The conference sponsors 18 sports at the NCAA Division I level: baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, women’s beach volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field and women’s water polo. For the fourth straight season (and the seventh in the past eight), UC Irvine was selected by the media to win the regular season title in men’s basketball. UC Davis, which has won four consecutive Big West women’s basketball championships, is the preseason favorite of the media to win a fifth in a row. For more information, visit BigWest.org or follow the Big West Conference on Twitter @BigWestSports and @BigWestHoops.