In response to the growing threat from coronavirus, which was recently declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, the NCAA on Thursday cancelled all winter and spring championships. Most notably, that means neither the men's nor women's NCAA Basketball Tournament will be held this year. However, it also means that the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska has been cancelled even though the event isn't until early June -- almost three months away. 

"This decision is based on the evolving CVOID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities," a statement from the NCAA read in part.

The college baseball regular season has been underway since February, and the College World Series has taken place every year since its inception in 1947. In December of last year, MLB announced that the annual draft would be relocated to Omaha to take place alongside the College World Series to allow for easier cross-promotion. No announcement on the status of the 2020 MLB Draft has yet been made. 

The College World Series each year consists of eight teams that prevail in the super-regional round. The CWS proceeds in a double-elimination format until just two teams are left. Those two teams play a best-of-three series to determine the national champion. Last year, Vanderbilt prevailed over Michigan in the final. Vanderbilt, ranked sixth in the most recent D1Baseball.com poll, had a realistic shot at becoming the first repeat champion since South Carolina in 2010-11, but nationwide efforts to contain the coronavirus have taken priority. 

Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that can cause illnesses as minor as a cold, or as serious as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), according to the World Health Organization. The virus can cause symptoms including fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But while some patients only show mild symptoms and recover, others have developed life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia, CBS News reports

CBS News has the latest updates about the virus, which has affected various sports globally and in the United States.Here at CBS Sports we have a running updates on how sports leagues are responding to coronavirus