All eyes are on the Southeast Conference now.
With the Atlantic Coast Conference making its big move on Wednesday announcing an 11-game soccer schedule, three of the Power 5 conferences have set their plans for 2020.
The SEC should be the next domino to fall.
The league’s 14 presidents and chancellors meet remotely today to discuss soccer scheduling options. There’s a boost behind a 10-game conference-only schedule, as Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday, though nothing can be finalized until the presidents vote. League presidents don’t have to make big decisions on Thursday; in fact, the conclusion could be to delay the decision by a week to weigh more information. However, there was a growing sense in the league that some decision should come at the end of the week.
Will it be a 10 game schedule for conferences only?
Speaking to sources around the SEC on Wednesday, no one was willing to entirely rule out the SEC adopting a 10 + 1 hybrid programming approach like the ACC that would give every SEC school a non-conference game. There are at least a couple of schools in the SEC’s eastern division that would like to see that happen to keep the in-state rivalry games with ACC schools going.
In that regard, it’s worth noting that SEC President (Dr. Eli Capilouto of Kentucky) and Vice President (Jere Morehead of Georgia) represent schools that have major rivalry games in the state.
AL.com first reported on July 9 that the sensation around the SEC was that it would end up following the exclusive path of the Big Ten conference. League sources were upset that the Big Ten made that call so soon and felt they were backing the SEC up in a corner to follow suit. The conference has now had weeks to debate the best option, with a consensus among ADs, though not unanimous, around a 10-game conference-only schedule.
If the SEC moves to a 10-conference-only approach, schools already have a good idea of the additional conference opponents they will have to face, according to sources. There is still time for adjustment, but the expectation is that in that scenario, the conference will maintain its divisions and add two opponents across divisions to each school’s schedule.
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Why a conference-only approach?
There are multiple reasons why a conference-only schedule makes a lot of sense to SEC leaders. Most importantly, it allows the conference to control all the primary factors. The league may establish uniform protocols, especially around the COVID-19 tests, which all schools must follow. There will probably be some standardized protocols between the Power 5 conference, but there could still be differences in conference-to-conference policies.
So if a game is to be canceled or postponed, which most experts consider likely at some point, it’s easier to handle all the ramifications of that conference than to coordinate with another conference. We’ve already seen how much FBS conferences struggle to get to the same page in rolling out these scheduling plans. Eliminating that aspect would give the SEC much more flexibility and fewer potential headaches.
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What are presidents considering when making a decision?
SEC presidents and chancellors get recommendations from their athletic directors, but ultimately the decision rests with them. Some will do what their AD tells them to do; others will become rogues. Think of it this way: The further you get away from the soccer field, the more considerations can change. A soccer coach only has to worry about the soccer team. An athletic director has to worry about each team. A university president has to worry about everything on campus. Just because ADs lean to one side doesn’t mean presidents will do the same.
That said, the SEC’s sense for weeks has been that its leaders will do their best to play a fall soccer season. The coronavirus, of course, significantly influences that decision when considering whether it will be safe to do so. It’s also worth noting that any decisions presidents can make are still subject to change. Discovering the programming model is a big step, but there will be more obstacles to overcome in order to successfully achieve a fall 2020 season.
I recently asked SEC President Dr. Capilouto what he and his colleagues would pay attention to before this decision. As part of his response, Capilouto said: “Will we have our infrastructure and responses ready? Will we have adequate preventive interventions? Those are the things I will look for in all of our universities and the communities in which we reside. “
What are the implications of the SEC’s decision?
If the SEC takes a conference-only approach, it could compel ACC and Big 12 to follow. If there is no possibility of in-state rivalry games like Florida-Florida State, the ACC could abandon its non-conference plan. The Big 12 would like to have a non-conference look, according to reports, though it would lose major games like Texas-LSU and Oklahoma-Tennessee. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby has told several reporters that Power 5 conferences don’t need to have the same plan, but they must be compatible. Would it really be worth it if Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference trying to play 12 games? To be determined.
It would also impact the Group of 5 conferences that generally get big payouts from SEC schools. Alabama, for example, is hired to pay $ 3.55 million combined this season for Georgia State, Kent State, and Tennessee-Martin to travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium. All of those games would be off the table and could trigger the force majeure clause in those gaming contracts. The Group of 5 conferences have been waiting to see what the Power 5 decide first, but they may have no choice but to continue if all of their great games outside of the conference are erased from the calendar.
The SEC’s decision will not only directly affect multiple games, but it has the potential to change the plans of multiple conferences.
John Talty is the sports editor and SEC Insider for the Alabama Media Group. You can follow him on Twitter @JTalty.
