The SEC is planning on playing the 2021 football season as scheduled, according to commissioner Greg Sankey via press conference.
“We are preparing to play the season as scheduled on Labor Day weekend,” Sankey said. “I think we will be back toward normal. That is different than back to normal.”
The conference was put on by the Nashville Sports Council and was hosted by ESPN’s Laura Rutledge. Sankey detailed the different obstacles the COVID-19 pandemic presented during the 2020 football season and how restrictions may still be in place this fall.
“Some of the adaptations we had to put in place last year may have to remain,” he said. “Maybe not as dramatic as having to play conference-only football, but the potential for disruptions and readjustments of schedules may be there. The potential for having to continue to swab our nose.”
In 2020, the SEC switched gears to a conference-only schedule and went on to have four teams play nine of 10 scheduled games due to game-cancellations thanks to contact tracing and positive COVID-19 testing within programs.
This year, 13 of 14 SEC programs have season openers scheduled for Sept. 4, including Georgia with a high-profile matchup versus Clemson in Charlotte.
“We will be prepared to play the season as scheduled and I can pivot off of that approach,” Sankey said.
You can view the entire conversation here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRxSQUfaaSc&feature=youtu.be
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