SEC Athletic Directors Meet With Commissioner; Sankey Expresses Concern
SEC athletic directors met in person Monday for the first time since the men's SEC basketball tournament in March.
The meeting took place at the SEC office in Birmingham, Ala. and while no major decisions were made, a number of important topics were rehashed.
"We had a productive meeting on Monday and engaged in discussions on a number of important issues that will contribute to critical decisions to be made in the weeks ahead," commissioner Greg Sankey in an article posted on the SEC website. "The ability to personally interact over the course of an entire day contributed to the productivity of the meeting."
The Ivy League, Patriot League, Hampton University and Morehouse College have all opted to cancel fall sports.
The ACC, Big-10 and PAC-12 decided they would move to a conference-only schedule.
As more leagues and teams make decisions, Sankey said there is a growing concern about the state of the country, particularly where SEC schools fall.
Florida, Texas and Georgia have all been hotbeds for months with no signs of slowing down while South Carolina has seen an uptick in cases.
Sankey said in the article that this is something to take into consideration.
"It is clear that current circumstances related to COVID-19 must improve and we will continue to closely monitor developments around the virus on a daily basis," he said. "In the coming weeks we will continue to meet regularly with campus leaders via video conferences and gather relevant information while guided by medical advisors. We believe that late July will provide the best clarity for making the important decisions ahead of us."
Sankey later appeared on the The Paul Finebaum Show and said while the other conferences' decisions don't dictate the SEC's actions, there still needs to be improvement in the next few weeks.