Sankey says SEC staying the course

Originally published on Aug 10, 2020 at 16:11

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey cautioned patience and continued efforts Monday on Twitter as the college football season appears to be toppling.

"Best advice I’ve received since COVID-19: 'Be patient. Take time when making decisions. This is all new & you’ll gain better information each day,'" Sankey wrote. "@SEC has been deliberate at each step since March...slowed return to practice...delayed 1st game to respect start of fall semester.. ...Deveoped (sic) testing protocols...We know concerns remain. We have never had a FB season in a COVID-19 environment. Can we play? I don’t know. We haven’t stopped trying. We support, educate and care for student-athletes every day, and will continue to do so...every day."

The Big Ten is expected to cancel its fall 2020 football season Tuesday, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press, though there are contradictory reports. The Pac-12 could soon follow, according to multiple reports.

SEC university presidents have scheduled a virtual call for Monday to discuss the latest developments, according to a report from Sports Illustrated.

The SEC delayed the start date for when teams may begin preseason football practice to Aug. 17, the conference announced on Aug. 4.

The NCAA previously had outlined that teams were allowed to begin practice on Aug. 7, but the SEC chose to push back the start of practice by 10 days. That move followed the late July decision by the SEC to bump back teams' season openers by three weeks to Sept. 26.

The SEC opted for a 10-game conference-only schedule in 2020, punting the usual schedule of eight SEC games and four nonconference games.