Will the coronavirus shut down college football like it has every other major college and professional sports season? Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey is optimistic there will be kickoffs this fall, he said Wednesday.
But he cautioned his hope with reality. Just a week ago he expected the SEC basketball tournament to unfold without a hitch in Nashville, Tenn.
Sankey opened Wednesday's media conference call with three important but sobering words that have come to define the nation's grasp on the coronavirus and its impact on the sports world: "'I don't know'" is a perfectly acceptable answer, and we have an obligation to figure out what those answers will be moving forward," Sankey said. "We're in one of those circumstances in life where there may be more, 'I don't knows,' than 'I know,' how something will play out."
But when the question of the upcoming college football season arrived, Sankey expressed confidence.
"Our focus is on preparing for the 2021 academic year, the fall seasons, as currently scheduled, so there's a period on the end of that sentence," he said. "Obviously, I think about everything going forward because we're being guided by public health information in decision making, but my hope is we can return to our normal organized activities, our normal experiences and be part of that celebration around soccer or volleyball, cross country, football in the fall. But, we'll have to see."
"I'm a half-full perspective person, so I have optimism," he added. "We have taken measures, as have our colleague conferences. At this time, I think that if I read those health leaders, we're going to have a period of time to see what happens with the growth of these cases, and we'll make decisions down the road."
Sankey is less hopeful that spring football practices will resume in the spring. The SEC has suspended all team activities, including practices, through April 15. The league has canceled all spring football games. Missouri's was scheduled for April 11. It won't be rescheduled.
"That doesn't mean we'll be back to normal or to practice activities April 16," he said. "It was just a date that allows our administrators to communicate with our coaches, our coaches with their student-athletes, has resulted in _ in the departures from campus.
"If you look at the national public messaging about no gatherings above 50, (it is) certainly difficult to conduct any football practice under that limitation, and even with smaller numbers, it had been communicated 10, as often referenced, thereby making it impossible into May, has been stated.
"So, I'm not going to be overly optimistic about the return to practice. We haven't fully foreclosed that opportunity, but I think practically that window's pretty narrow."
Assuming the season will start on time, will teams be allowed to hold more practices leading up to the preseason? In Missouri's case, the Tigers completed only three of their 15 spring practices. Will there be an opportunity to make up those workouts? Possibly. Those practices will be especially vital for teams with first-year coaches, like Missouri and Eliah Drinkwitz, one of four first-year coaches in the SEC, along with Arkansas' Sam Pittman, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin and Mississippi State's Mike Leach.
"I'm confident, in fact, if we're not able to practice further this spring, I'm confident that we'll be seeking opportunities to make sure our teams are adequately prepared heading into the season," Sankey said. "Elements of that are going to be guided by the public-health realities in front of us."
