Greg Sankey provides update on the future of SEC athletics

Published 3:11 pm Sunday, March 15, 2020

“In the past few days, we have moved from the certainty of a men’s basketball tournament championship game today to a circumstance where many things in our world feel uncertain. Needless to say, this is an unprecedented experience for us all,” Sankey’s statement read. “We take very seriously each division related to coronavirus/COVID-19. We all care about sports, but we care more deeply about the people involved in our sports. For them, I can only imagine the shock, disappointment, anger and frustration that comes from learning your season, your championship, your opportunity to be with your team and your desire to pursue your passion have been disrupted.”

On Thursday, following his press conference and later the NCAA’s decree to cancel its winter and spring sport championships, Sankey went back on television and expressed what seemed like frustrations in the decision to cancel events, such as the College World Series, which does not begin until June.

It’s clear that the conference, despite not having the NCAA championship season to look forward to, still wants to play spring sports. On Saturday, they pushed back the potential restart date from March 30 to April 15, in agreement with the NCAA suspending all recruiting activities until that same date. However, they’re still not ready to call off spring sports altogether, something Sankey’s statement did not even mention.

“For our fans, thank you for your loyalty during these extraordinary times. Please know the leadership of the Southeastern Conference, including myself, our precedence and chancellors and the SEC’s athletics directors, will consider carefully the manner in which we move forward.”

As with all news relating to COVID-19 over the past week, this story is constantly evolving. Check back on www.oxfordeagle.com for updates.