SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Addresses Plans for Season

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey appeared on the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday morning to discuss the conference’s plans for the upcoming College Football season. The appearance came at a time of great uncertainty for the future of the season, as the spread of the coronavirus has brought plans for College Football to a screeching halt. According to multiple reports, the Big Ten and PAC-12 are seriously considering the possibility of canceling or delaying the season due to the pandemic — putting the SEC under intense pressure.

However, in the interview with Dan Patrick, Sankey made it clear that the SEC would not be affected by any other conference’s decision — and would later imply that the conference hypothetically could consider playing even if they were the only conference to do so. According to Sankey, the conference’s decision will hinge on the safety and well-being of its athletes, and the SEC would rely on advice from medical professionals in order to determine the best plan for moving forward.

“Were that advice to change, it certainly would be a stopping point,” said the SEC Commissioner. “The indicators are we can right now do what we’re doing in a healthy way.” Despite the conference commissioner’s plans, the SEC’s colleague conferences are less certain that the season can be played in a safe and dignified manner. The Big Ten and PAC-12 are on the verge of cancelling the season, and the Big-12 is reportedly torn in regards to which call to make — leaving only the ACC and SEC as the conferences completely willing to play.

“I don’t think that’s the right direction, really,” Sankey said in regards to the possibility of being the only conference playing in the fall. “Could we? Certainly. There’s a difference between can you do something and should you do something in life. We’ve actually set up our schedule with our own health protocols; we could, if that’s the circumstance, operate on our own. I’m not sure that’s the wisest direction.”

As a result of the SEC’s plans to move forward in preparation for the season, many teams in other conference’s have flirted with the idea of temporarily joining the SEC for a single season; however, Commissioner Sankey said that he is not a fan of that idea. “There are probably any number of legal, contractual, media — I can go down a list of reasons — that’s not quite practical,” said Sankey. “We’re focused on our members and our 10 games. What we’ve done is create a quasi-bubble on our campuses for our teams and a quasi-bubble schedule for our conference.”

Sankey also issued this statement following the news of the B1G10 and PAC-12 cancellation:

As things stand right now, the SEC’s season will start in late September, with each conference member playing 10-games to determine which two teams will participate in the conference championship game in December. As for the Big Ten and PAC-12, a decision is reportedly looming on the horizon regarding what their plans for the season will be.