SEC announces plan for attendance, games this fall

We’ve known for some time now that SEC football would look different this season. Now, those plans are official.

On Monday, the Southeastern Conference released its full 10-game schedule for each team, and this week, each of those teams begins fall camp in preparation for September 26.

Still, the question remained— how would attendance and COVID-19 regulations work for those games, at least on a conference-wide scale?

By Tuesday, those questions were answered.

The SEC announced health and safety guidelines Tuesday morning, with the added flexibility for schools to adopt program-specific protocols to coincide with each school’s specific needs and circumstances.

The entire layout for the conference can be viewed using the link in the above paragraph, but important points for Tennessee fans can be found below.

That conference-issued flexibility will extend to attendance, tailgating, team walks (such as the “Vol Walk”), and stadium-specific plans for disinfecting areas and following distancing requirements. 

"Although local and state guidelines will determine if and how many fans can attend games, these guidelines provide conference-wide expectations for protection of guests who are able to attend our games,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

In terms of attendance, the conference’s document entails flexibility for each school, with, as Sankey stated, instructions to follow local guidelines.

For Tennessee, Chancellor Donde Plowman said that Neyland Stadium will feature a limited capacity.

Athletic director Phillip Fulmer said the number of fans allowed could vary on a weekly basis, based on changing guidelines from health departments and the CDC.

What won’t change each week is a requirement for face coverings, as the conference announced that masks will be required during movement throughout any stadium, as well as any time when fans are “unable to maintain the physical distance from others who are not in their same household.”

That mask requirement also applies to stadium workers and athletics staff.

The conference will also allow flexibility in determining tailgating. Again, Tennessee has stated that no UT-sponsored, on-campus tailgating will be allowed. There has been no determination yet for individual tailgates.

If UT permits the Vol Walk for this season, everyone must wear facial coverings. Moreover, the SEC states that social distancing must be applied at all times for walk participants and guests— meaning the “sea of orange” with which fans are so familiar will be a distant memory for this season.

The SEC also mandated barriers for any “points of sale” (such as cash registers for team stores or concession stands), or that concessions staff must, at minimum, wear face shields and masks.

Fans can also expect distancing requirements while waiting in lines throughout stadiums across the conference, and “grab-and-go” style will be the norm for food selection this fall. Condiments will be single-serve, and beverages will be provided directly to fans.

That distancing— and requirements for facial coverings— will extend to shuttles, too, meaning any Vol fans who park on the university’s Agricultural campus will need to wear masks and maintain distancing for transportation to the main campus.

Anyone in premium seating will also be under different regulations this fall. “Suite hopping” will not be allowed, and fans will be prohibited from utilizing a “field level” walkway at the same time that an athlete, game official, team official or coach is doing so. 

Hand washing/sanitizer stations will be placed throughout each stadium’s restrooms, premium seating locations, and throughout each venue.

Altogether, this football season will look entirely different than any we’ve experienced before.

Still, it’s better than no football at all.

“The number one thing for us is to protect the people around us, and that will never change,” Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said Monday. “That’s during this pandemic and that’s before this pandemic, so that’s never going to change.”