NCAA Approves Resumption of Activities in Three Sports

Football along with men's and women's basketball will begin June 1, following a vote Wednesday by the NCAA Division I Council.

It might be the full go-ahead some are impatiently awaiting; it was a step in the right direction on Wednesday afternoon when the NCAA Division I Council voted to allow activities in three sports to resume activities beginning June 1. 

According to Yahoo! Sports reporter Pete Thamel, the NCAA Division I Council voted to approve voluntary athletic activities in football, men's basketball and women's basketball beginning on June 1 and going through June 30. The rest of the sports will be acted on at a later date, which is expected to be next week, per Thamel.

Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey has been out front of late commenting on potential scenarios and some of the things he and his staff along with the 14 conference athletic directors have been working on, and will likely have a comment later this week.

Among the things Sankey has mentioned include the possibility of the SEC playing a conference only schedule in the event some schools are unable to reopen, and schedules must be adjusted. 

Before this announcement, there had been a moratorium from the NCAA on all sports through May because of the pandemic, and there were those who opposed a June 1 date, including the University of Tennessee.  

Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer was the lone dissenting voice among the conferences athletic directors during a conference call where the June 1 restart date was discussed. 

Fulmer's reason was that two more weeks to allow for more data collection on the virus and to allow for more time for the virus to possibly further subside.

Now that the NCAA has voted, expect the SEC to have their member institution soon to move toward resuming activities.  

One would assume that at least 13 of the league's schools would move forward, but it will be worth following to see if Tennessee and Fulmer move forward or if he will hold the Volunteers programs until the 15th as he proposed last week. 

 

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