Richmond pauses activities, cancels game against Charleston due to COVID-19

The Richmond Spiders have added themselves to the list of men's basketball programs that have temporarily paused team activities due to COVID-19 test results and subsequent contact tracing.

As a result, Wednesday's game between the No. 19-ranked Spiders and the College of Charleston Cougars has been canceled. 

"We are pausing our men's basketball program for now in accordance with the guidelines of the CDC, Virginia Department of Health and our University medical professionals," Richmond vice president and director of athletics John P. Hardt said in the prepared statement. "Although we are extremely disappointed for our student-athletes, our coaches and our fans, the health and safety of our Spider student-athletes and staff must be our top priority. We will continue to follow the guidelines and protocols of the appropriate medical professionals. I know our athletics program, including our men's basketball student-athletes, coaches and staff will continue to do an excellent job being proactive and following the appropriate protocols. They have all worked extremely hard to ensure the safest environment possible, so this current situation is especially frustrating."

Charleston added that it will either attempt to reschedule the Richmond game or find a new opponent and date.

The Spiders opened their campaign with an 82-64 win over the Morehead State Eagles last Friday and then shocked the college basketball community by toppling the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, a result that bumped Richmond into the top 25. 

It's unknown if Richmond will be cleared to face the Furman Paladins this coming Saturday. 

Earlier in the day, the Colorado men's basketball program had to pause activities and postpone a game because of coronavirus-related issues.