The Southeastern Conference announced on Wednesday night that all on-campus sporting events beginning March 12 and through at least March 30 will be played with no fans in attendance.

The SEC is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus. Only essential staff, select family members and credentialed media will be allowed at on-campus events -- most notably baseball venues around the league.

This same structure is also in play at the SEC men's basketball tournament beginning Thursday. Fans were allowed during Ole Miss' loss to Georgia on Wednesday.

"After conferring with local and national health authorities, we remain confident in our ability to safeguard the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and other staff who will be participating as well as the limited number of family members and media who will be in attendance at the tournament," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in the conference's release.

"We regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision has caused our fans, especially those who have already traveled to Nashville for the tournament."

Ole Miss emailed ticketholders on Wednesday, saying employees will be in contact with customers soon. Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter told RebelGrove.com the school will soon have options for ticketholders to make up for losing access during this time period.

The Rebels host LSU beginning Friday and Arkansas on March 27. Ole Miss is at Texas A&M next weekend. There's also a midweek game scheduled against UT Martin on March 17. Ole Miss is 16-1 and holds the nation's longest winning streak.

Ole Miss is also in ongoing discussions about moving all academic classes online for a period of time. Vanderbilt and Kentucky have implemented similar changes.

The NBA suspended its season on Wednesday after Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.