SEC football updates: Here’s the latest news about fall sports on Aug. 11
A historic Tuesday has shaken the college football world, and the reverberations will continue well into Wednesday. Here’s the latest news being reported about the SEC’s plans for the fall and the sport as a whole.
Big Ten, Pac-12 punt to spring
After a frenzied 48 hours or so in which the Big Ten appeared poised to cancel its fall season, only to backtrack after intense and widespread backlash, the decision that had been widely expected since the weekend dropped Tuesday afternoon — the Big Ten became the biggest conference yet, and the first of the Power Five, to announce that it will postpone fall sports with the hope of playing in the spring.
“There is too much uncertainty now for us to go forward,” commissioner Kevin Warren said on the Big Ten Network. “This is a novel virus. It is spreading at an alarming rate… There are just too many uncertainties from a medical standpoint for us to go forward.”
Within a few hours, the Pac-12’s CEO Group, comprised of presidents and chancellors from member schools, also voted to delay to the spring. That means four of 10 FBS conferences have now said they won’t play this fall.
The two major conferences’ decisions, mostly expected by observers, now put the focus squarely on the remaining holdouts, including the ACC and SEC. Officials have said other leagues won’t force their hands by postponing, but the outcome of some conferences playing in the fall and others in the spring seems chaotic at best.
Big 12 not backing out
With the Big Ten and Pac-12 out, the Big 12 was seen by many observers as a “swing vote” of sorts in the Power Five. If it chose to postpone as well, the ACC and SEC would be left on their own and in the minority — not forced to cancel but certainly feeling a lot more pressure.
But after a meeting with university presidents, athletic directors and commissioner Bob Bowlsby, reports emerged that for now, the conference is moving ahead with plans to play this fall. SoonerScoop.com, Yahoo Sports and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram all cited sources indicating the decision, which keeps hopes for a fall season in more realistic territory.
Ray Tanner learns about Big Ten delay live on the air
In a sign of just how chaotic and rapidly evolving the situation is, South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner was live on the air with 107.5 FM on Tuesday afternoon when news broke that the Big Ten would be punting on a fall season.
Informed of the decision, Tanner stuck with the SEC line that other conferences’ moves won’t dictate what the league does.
“It’s one of those situations that the Big Ten is out,” Tanner said. “They made a decision that they’re out. There’s other conferences that are continuing to try to go down the path that we are, to be prepared to play to make sure the protocols are in place. And we will stay there. It changes from time to time.”
Greg Sankey says SEC has medical clearance to move forward
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has preached patience in the decision-making process when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall season. And on Tuesday, he went on the Dan Patrick Show and said the conference has received the green light from its medical advisory board to keep preparing and pushing for the season.
“Our medical advisory group has said, ‘Yes, we can continue to go forward,’” Sankey said, according to The Athletic. “Should that advice change, that would certainly be a stopping point.”
After the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced their decisions, Sankey released a statement reiterating that the SEC was still moving forward.
“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today,” Sankey said in the statement. “I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”
LSU’s Ed Orgeron still pushing
LSU and head coach Ed Orgeron are coming off a national championship run and were voted No. 5 in the preseason coaches poll. Orgeron has also been one of the most vocal coaches in the country in regards to the coronavirus, participating in a PSA campaign to encourage mask wearing and social distancing.
And he’s not ready to give up on a season just yet, he said in a radio interview on WNXX on Tuesday morning.
“I think it’s too early to make a decision,” Orgeron said. “I think we need to compete. We owe our players this. We’ve got to give our players this opportunity if it’s safe for them. They deserve it. Our fans deserve it. Our country deserves it.”
