Thomas Dziagwa’s parents planned to watch him play basketball Thursday in Missouri, but instead, they spent the afternoon waiting to fly home to Florida.
When Don and Mary Dziagwa were leaving their hotel that morning, they expected to grab lunch and then settle into their seats at the Sprint Center in Kansas City for the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship. The previous night, their son and his Oklahoma State teammates had defeated Iowa State in the first round, so the Cowboys were set to face top-seeded Kansas.
The quarterfinal games never happened. Because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced Thursday the conference was shutting down the tournament.