Tag: announcement

Gators News: August 18, 2020

With the SEC announcing its full 2020 10-game intraconference schedule, things are kicking into high gear in the Gator Nation. 

Welcome to a Tuesday edition of Gators News! With the Southeastern Conference announcing its full 2020 10-game intraconference schedule, things are kicking into high gear in the Gator Nation.

Paul Myerberg at USA TODAY Sports took a stab at ranking the SEC’s Week 1 matchups, placing the Gators’ game with Ole Miss in second just behind Mississippi State at LSU.

Gentry Estes over at the Nashville Tennessean believes that if this college football season actually happens amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic, then every player will deserve a ring.

In college hoops, by mid-September, the NCAA is expected to announce a decision whether the men’s and women’s college basketball seasons will start on time. Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice-president of basketball, released a statement Monday which included the following.

“As we prepare for the 2020-21 college basketball season, we have exercised patience and discipline in monitoring the effects of COVID-19 and making decisions regarding the season.”

Here is the rest of the news from the Gators Wire.

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LSU, UGA stand in way of Florida Gators’ path to 2020 SEC football glory

The full football schedule for the SEC this fall was announced Monday night on a live broadcast by the SEC Network.

The full football schedule for the SEC this fall was announced Monday night on a live broadcast by the SEC Network.

Earlier in the day, the league released the full first-week schedule, including UF’s season opener on Sep. 26, when the Gators will travel to Oxford, Ms., for the first time since 2007.

Among the highlights of Florida’s full schedule is a Week 3 road match in College Station against Texas A&M followed by a home fixture the following weekend against defending national champion LSU.

Additionally, the Gators won’t be playing Georgia on Halloween weekend as they usually do. Both teams are on a bye that weekend, and they will compete at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville the following weekend on Nov. 7.

One of the changes made to the format of the schedule to accommodate the added two games is the extension of the regular season to the first weekend of December. Though in-state rivalry games, such as the Iron and Egg Bowls, will still take place on Thanksgiving weekend, those matchups will not conclude the regular season for those schools.

On Dec. 5, the Gators travel to Knoxville, Tn., to complete the regular season against Tennessee. It will be the first time Florida has played the Volunteers in December since 2001, when the game was delayed as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The full schedule is listed below. All kickoff times are still TBD.

Week 1 – Sept. 26 at Ole Miss

Week 2 – Oct. 3 vs. South Carolina

Week 3 – Oct. 10 at Texas A&M

Week 4 – Oct. 17 vs. LSU

Week 5 – Oct. 24 vs. Missouri

Week 6 – Bye

Week 7 – Nov. 7 vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)

Week 8 – Nov. 14 vs. Arkansas

Week 9 – Nov. 21 at Vanderbilt

Week 10 – Nov. 28 vs. Kentucky

Week 11 – Dec. 5 at Tennessee

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Florida Gators football will face Ole Miss in SEC Week 1 matchup

The Southeastern Conference announced its opening week matchups on Monday afternoon, revealing the roster for the first seven games of 2020.

The Southeastern Conference announced its opening week matchups on Monday afternoon, revealing the roster for the first seven games of 2020. Despite the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the league has shown every indication that it will continue forward with its conference-only schedule beginning on Sept. 26.

The University of Florida was pitted against non-divisional foe Ole Miss, whose first-year coach Lane Kiffin will be looking to set the tone for his team against a heavily-favored Florida team. The Gators will begin their conference-only season on the road far from the friendly confines of The Swamp, but they bring in high expectations after a commendable showing in 2019.

However, while the Gators may be a better overall team, do not count the Rebels out in this weird 2020 year where anything seems possible, especially with Kiffin at the helm on the opposite sideline.

WEEK 1 SCHEDULE

Alabama at Missouri

Florida at Ole Miss

Georgia at Arkansas

Kentucky at Auburn

Mississippi State at LSU

Tennessee at South Carolina

Vanderbilt at Texas A&M

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Gators News: August 17, 2020

It is a new week and as we inch towards the return of college football down here in the SEC there is plenty going on around the sports world

It is a new week and as we inch towards the return of college football down here in the Southeastern Conference, there is plenty going on around the sports world to report on.

Leading off, tonight the SEC will announce its official 2020 football schedule tonight at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. The league appears to be moving forward strong towards fall competition and releasing the schedule now is sure to please a plethora of fans.

Not everyone will be playing if/when the season starts, however, as Ole Miss senior center Eli Johnson announced he is opting out of the 2020 college football season, whose father was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator after being infected with the novel coronavirus back in March.

Adam Jardy at The Columbus Dispatch asks if a “bubble” plan could work for college basketball and takes a look at the variables involved. Our own Tyler Nettuno discussed whether there would even be a season in his column last month, and not much has changed since.

There is sad news in the Gator Nation, as former wide receiver and current Florida International assistant coach Aubrey Hill has passed away after a long bout with cancer. He was 48 years old.

Around the Swamp

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SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey releases statement on conference status

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey released the following statement on the SEC’s official Twitter account. 

Amidst the turmoil of the college football landscape on Tuesday, after the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences announced that they will be canceling their 2020 fall football schedules, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey released the following statement on the SEC’s official Twitter account.

“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led to the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today. I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 member schools 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.”

The Atlantic Coast Conference also released a statement over Twitter about the same time on Tuesday afternoon, which stated the following.

The ACC will continue to make decisions based on medical advice, inclusive of our Medical Advisory Group, local and state health guidelines, and do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities’ academic missions.

The safety of our students, staff and overall campus communities will always be our top priority, and we are pleased with the protocols being administrated on our 15 campuses. We will continue to follow our process that has been in place for months and has served us well.

We understand the need to stay flexible and be prepared to adjust as medical information and the landscape evolves.

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Gators News: August 5, 2020

It is Wednesday and on this fine humpday, there is plenty of news from around the Gators Nation just waiting to satiate your reading needs. 

It is Wednesday and on this fine humpday, there is plenty from around the Gators Nation just waiting to satiate your reading desires.

The biggest news comes from the Big Ten, which announced this morning its schedule of 10 conference games to start on Sept. 5. The announcement sets the parameters for a regular season that eliminates all non-conference play and adds in an additional off week to provide the highest degree of scheduling flexibility in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Check below for the latest from Gators Wire.

Around the Swamp

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SEC announces plan to play 10-game conference-only football schedule

The SEC announced that its member schools will adhere to a 10-game, conference-only schedule for the upcoming 2020 football season.

The Southeastern Conference announced on Thursday that its member schools will adhere to a 10-game, conference-only schedule for the upcoming 2020 football season beginning on Sept. 26.

From the press release:

The 2020 SEC football season will be comprised of a 10-game Conference-only schedule and the SEC Football Championship Game will be played December 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, rescheduled from the original date of December 5. The schedule will include one mid-season open date for each school and an open date on December 12 for all schools.

“This new plan for a football schedule is consistent with the educational goals of our universities to allow for the safe and orderly return to campus of their student populations and to provide a healthy learning environment during these unique circumstances presented by the COVID-19 virus,” Sankey said.  “This new schedule supports the safety measures that are being taken by each of our institutions to ensure the health of our campus communities.”

This action was taken following extensive discussions and thorough deliberation among the SEC’s Presidents and Chancellors, Athletics Directors, Conference Office staff, and medical advisors, led by the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force.

“After careful consideration of the public health indicators in our region and following advice of our medical advisors, we have determined that this is the best course of action to prepare for a safe and healthy return to competition for SEC student-athletes, coaches and others associated with our sports programs,” said Sankey.

The decision to limit competition to Conference-only opponents and rescheduling the SEC Championship Game is based on the need for maximum flexibility in making any necessary scheduling adjustments while reacting to developments around the pandemic and continued advice from medical professionals.

“We believe these schedule adjustments offer the best opportunity to complete a full season by giving us the ability to adapt to the fluid nature of the virus and the flexibility to adjust schedules as necessary if disruptions occur,” Sankey said.  “It is regrettable that some of our traditional non-conference rivalries cannot take place in 2020 under this plan, but these are unique, and hopefully temporary, circumstances that call for unconventional measures.”

The rescheduled start to the season will allow the SEC to continue to monitor health trends across its 11-state footprint, as well as monitor developments in technology around mitigation and treatment of the virus, including:

– Trends in public health indicators throughout the SEC’s 11-state footprint, including positive cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations and recovery statistics

– State, local and campus heath directives, including restrictions on gatherings, isolation requirements for travelers, and other health and travel restrictions

– Continued development of risk mitigation strategies

– Continued advancement in COVID-19 testing reliability and availability

– Continued evolution of time-based strategies for resuming activities after positive test results, including contact tracing, isolation and quarantine requirements

– Observation of successes and challenges presented by return to competition in other sports

A revised schedule for the 2020 SEC football season will be announced at a later date following approval by the Conference’s athletics directors.

Further decisions regarding safety standards related to athletics events, tailgating and other game day activities, including social distancing, face covering and other health measures consistent with CDC, state and local guidelines, will be announced at a later date.

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Gators quarterback Kyle Trask listed on Maxwell Award Watch List

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask is one of 90 players on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced.

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask is one of 90 players on the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Friday. He’s the ninth UF player to be named to a postseason award watch list so far.

He joins 38 other signal-callers nationwide and four from the SEC on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is given annually to the nation’s most outstanding player. Mississippi State’s K.J. Costello, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, Georgia’s Jamie Newman and Auburn’s Bo Nix are also on the list.

Trask is coming off one of the best passing seasons by a Florida quarterback in the last two decades. After stepping in as the starter for an injured Feleipe Franks in the third game, Trask led the Gators to an 11-2 finish in 2019, throwing for 2,941 yards with 25 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions. He had a passer rating of 156.09, the ninth-best mark in school history and the highest since Tim Tebow achieved a 164.2 rating in 2009.

The 2020 Maxwell Award’s winner is set to be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10.

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Gators News: July 13, 2020

A new week is upon us and given the events that preceded the weekend we are in for one heckuva few days as we roll into the middle of July. 

A new week is upon us and given the events that preceded the weekend we are in for one heck of a few days as we roll into the middle of July.

It is expected that sometime later today the Southeastern Conference will make its announcement concerning the shift to conference-only schedules already taken by the Big 10 and PAC-12, as well as the Ivy League’s decision to cancel all fall athletics. The Patriot League is also canceling its 2020 fall athletics season, according to a source.

In other news, Major League Baseball is currently struggling with its restart due to numerous reports of positive COVID-19 cases while the National Basketball Association is trying its hardest to keep its bubble from being burst.

Around the Swamp

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Big Ten opts for conference-only football schedule this coming fall

The decision by the Big Ten is expected to create a domino effect throughout the college football landscape as others are assured to follow.

The Big Ten athletic conference announced on Thursday that its member schools will play a conference-only schedule for the upcoming 2020 football season.

Word of the decision leaked earlier in the day when The Athletic’s college football senior writer Nicole Auerbach revealed the news on Twitter. USA TODAY Sports later corroborated the report with multiple people who have intimate knowledge of the decision.

The full press release from the conference is included below.

We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority.

To that end, the Big Ten Conference announced today that if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball) based on medical advice, it will move to Conference-only schedules in those sports. Details for these sports will be released at a later date, while decisions on sports not listed above will continue to be evaluated. By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.

This decision was made following many thoughtful conversations over several months between the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Directors of Athletics, Conference Office staff, and medical experts including the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.

In addition, the Conference announced that summer athletic activities will continue to be voluntary in all sports currently permitted to engage in such activities. Furthermore, Big Ten student-athletes who choose not to participate in intercollegiate athletics at any time during the summer and/or the 2020-21 academic year due to concerns about COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarship honored by their institution and will remain in good standing with their team.

While Big Ten member institutions continue to rely on the most up-to-date medical information to establish the best protocols for voluntary workouts on their campuses, in compliance with local and state regulations, the Conference is working with the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee to finalize Conference-wide protocols.

As we continue to focus on how to play this season in a safe and responsible way, based on the best advice of medical experts, we are also prepared not to play in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes should the circumstances so dictate.

The absence of non-conference opponents on a Power Five league schedule could have a big impact on smaller programs that rely on “guarantee games” at major schools for a big part of the athletic budget. It is unclear whether those contracts would call for a penalty payment.

The decision by the Big Ten is expected to create a domino effect throughout the college football landscape, as other conferences are almost assured to follow in the conference’s footsteps. The first league expected to follow suit is the Pac-12, which Auerbach reported in a later tweet is expected to move to a conference-only schedule in the coming days. Stadium Network college football insider Brett McMurphy also reported that the ACC is also strongly considering the change.

At best, the 2020 season will be a shadow of the sport that brings college communities together every fall. However, the most likely outcome at this point is that fans will be lucky if any sports are played at all.

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