Commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday that patience is the order of the day as the Southeast Conference looks to an uncertain football future. Several reports have said the Big Ten will choose to cancel fall sports, making speculation that the other Power 5 conferences will do the same. But the SEC shows no sign of rapidly following the Big Ten.
Sports Illustrated reported that SEC presidents today have an “unplanned meeting” via Zoom, but SEC presidents meet every week. Sources tell AuburnUndercover that athletics directors are continuing to work on finalizing the schedule. The SEC previously announced it would move the start of its season to Sept. 26 and the beginning of the fall camp until August 17th. Sources told AuburnUndercover that programs have not been notified of changes in direction.
Sankey tweeted that he did not know if the SEC could play, but that “we did not stop trying.”
“Best advice I have received since COVID-19: Be patient. Take time when making decisions. This is all new and you will get better information every day, ” Sankey tweeted Monday. (The) SEC has been aware of every step since March … slow return to practice … delayed 1st game to show respect for early fall semester … developed test protocols.
‘We know that concerns remain. We’ve never had a FB season in a COVID-19 environment. Can we play? I do not know. We have not stopped trying. We support, educate and care for student athletes every day, and will continue to do so. ”
A whirlwind of reports of looming doom began Saturday with word that the Mid-American Athletic Conference had canceled the seasons for all bankruptcy sports. This was followed by a flood of stories with quotes from anonymous sources saying that Power 5 conferences would be next. No Power 5 conference, including the Big Ten, has announced cancellations. Speculation continues that the Big Ten and Pac-12 are likely to announce cancellations in the coming days.
Best advice I have received since COVID-19: “Be patient. Take your time when making decisions. This is all new and you will get better information every day.” @SEC has been aware of every step since March … slower return to practice … delayed 1st game to respect respect for start of autumn semester
– Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 10, 2020
… Protocols for developed tests … We know that concerns remain. We’ve never had a FB season in a COVID-19 environment. Can we play? I do not know. We have not stopped trying. We support, educate and care for student-athletes every day, and will continue to do so … every day.
– Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 10, 2020
