ATHENS – SEC commissioner Greg Sankey made it clear Wednesday night that there is no room for speculation at this time in his league office.
RELATED: ACC Announces Schedule Change Details, Inclusion of Notre Dame
Sankey released a statement shortly after ACC announced its 11-game calendar model. The ACC will include Notre Dame within its league schedule, with each conference member playing 10 league opponents plus one out-of-conference game in the state:
Sankey had no interest in responding to rumors that the SEC is expected to do the same with a similar calendar model, saying:
“It is not appropriate to respond to anonymous sources and speculation. We continue our discussions focused on the return of fall sports, including soccer. We will announce any decision at the appropriate time. “
SEC on deck
SEC league presidents have a Zoom call scheduled for Thursday.
Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity told DawgNation on Wednesday that the league’s programming model would be the focus of the discussion.
The new ACC schedule model stipulates that ACC non-conference games must be played in the home state of the ACC school.
That rules out Georgia opening the season against Virginia at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 7, as previously scheduled.
Gary Stokan, the organizer of the Chick-fil-A launch, had suggested last week that ACC and SEC were looking to program models that could remove a couple of games from the Mercedes-Benz stadium.
Georgia is slated to open the SEC game in Alabama on September 19, as is the current schedule, with a home game on September 12 in East Tennessee.
Eight or 10?
The SEC has been considering programming models that include eight and 10 conference games, with the addition of a single non-conference game.
RELATED: How Georgia Could Break the 10-Game League Calendar
McGarity told DawgNation weeks ago that UGA would prioritize a non-conference game with Georgia Tech over others.
Georgia playing the Yellow Jackets in Athens, Georgia would meet the ACC requirements to play outside of the conference.
The game is scheduled for November 28, but there is a possibility that it may be moved to another date, according to sources.
Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that the SEC may be nearing a 10-game conference schedule.
Sankey has said throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that the SEC will seek to make a decision near the end of July.
Recently, however, Sankey and other league officials indicated that in late July it could serve more as a “checkpoint.”
The SEC is not scheduled to start playing until the weekend of September 5.
Blanket exemption
The NCAA recently granted a so-called “general exemption” to all FBS teams that would allow them to advance their opening game through August 29, in the same way that Oklahoma did with its game against the State of Missouri.
A built-in week of rest would provide a cushion for any player who tests positive for COVID-19. The NCAA released an updated Resocialization Executive Summary that requires positive players to be isolated for 10 days.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 resorted to a league-only calendar model to provide more scheduling flexibility, in the event of outbreaks that could lead to postponed games.
Sankey has discussed the rollback of the SEC Championship Game to allow for more flexibility in schedule. The league title is scheduled for December 7.
The ACC, in its model launch, said its championship game will be on December 12 or December 19 and will present the top two teams by winning percentage.
Statement from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey:
“It is not appropriate to respond to anonymous sources and speculation. We continue our discussions focused on the return of fall sports, including soccer. We will announce any decision at the appropriate time. “
– Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) July 29, 2020
NEWS: The #SEC are approaching a 10-game schedule for the conference only, sources tell @SINow.
The ADs agreed on the matter on Wednesday and the presidents are expected to meet on Thursday, although they may delay a decision until next week.
This is a fluid situation. https://t.co/er591whOF0
– Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 29, 2020
DawgNation College Soccer Offseason
RELATED: Sankey Says SEC Title Game Could Roll Back, Shares Thoughts on Spring Football
