Not surprisingly, Green Bay Phoenix fans will not be allowed to be in attendance for at least the first three home games this season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Horizon League announced the decision November 4^th while releasing its non-conference schedule saying the conference’s “Board of Directors is overseeing League-wide safety protocols focused on consistency and clarity for all League competition.  As part of these protocols, the Board of Directors determined that due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, all League games in the month of December will be played without fans.”

“The Board of Directors will reevaluate these changes at a later date.”

That means that Green Bay’s first four conference games of the season – December 19^th and 20^th at home against rival Milwaukee and December 26^th and 27^th at league favorite Wright State – will be played without fans in the stands.

Green Bay has also decided that their lone home non-conference game of the season – December 5^th against Eastern Illinois – will also be played without fans. The program had previously announced in September that its November and December home games will take place at the Kress Center on the UW-Green Bay campus.

Fans could potentially be allowed to be in attendance for January and February home games but that decision will come at a later date.

“Our coaching, external and facilities staffs have been hard at work designing and developing concepts for our venues,” Green Bay athletic director Charles Guthrie wrote in an email to UWGB students last month. “Together we are working on plans to safely allow the student body remote access to competition and creative ways to cheer for the Phoenix. Unfortunately, spectators will not be permitted inside the venues.”

“We’ll continue to monitor and re-evaluate this situation and have any update by January 1, 2021.”

Fellow conference foes Detroit Mercy and Purdue Fort Wayne have already announced that no fans will be in attendance for the entire season this year and Green Bay’s non-conference game at Marquette on December 8^th will also be played without fans.

The Phoenix are tentatively scheduled to open the season on November 25^th at Minnesota, though the Gophers have paused team activities “indefinitely” due to positive COVID-19 tests in their men’s and women’s basketball programs.