Texas A&M will forego South Dakota hoops tournament amid COVID-19 concerns

The ever-evolving college basketball schedule changed again on Tuesday evening. Texas A&M was originally scheduled to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas, which was moved to South Dakota in September amid COVID-19 concerns. Now, also amid COVID-19 concerns, the Aggies will forego the tournament altogether, and the season will begin on Sunday, Nov. 29, with a home game against the University of New Orleans.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes and staff is the top priority for our entire athletics department, and given the current public health crisis, we have decided to cancel our trip to the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic,” Texas A&M Director of Athletics Ross Bjork said. “In order to keep our program as safe as possible as we start the season, we sought input from public health experts and our medical team after seeing the rise of cases in all of our communities, but especially in the state of South Dakota. Based on their advice, we felt it was most prudent to stay in Texas and work to schedule a home game at Reed Arena. We are thankful for the hard work and understanding of the tournament organizers.”