SIOUX FALLS — In response to the growing public health threat posed by COVID-19, the Summit League has canceled all spring sporting events for league members through the end of the 2019-20 academic year, according to an email from Ryan Powell, the league’s assistant commissioner for communications.

The Summit League’s announcement comes less than 24 hours after the conference canceled events through March 30 and also follows the NCAA’s cancelation of all championship events for spring and winter sports as announced Thursday.

“The decision yesterday to suspend spring sports for the month of March gave the League roughly 24 hours to collect as much information as possible,” read Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple’s statement in the email. “… Based upon (the NCAA’s) announcement and discussions with members of our Summit League Presidents’ Council, we determined it is in the best interest of our student-athletes, our staffs and our fans to proceed with canceling all spring competitions.”