Sankey admitted circumstances around the virus always presented the potential for schedule disruptionGETTY IMAGES
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the recent events around the conference are the "realities we have dealt with" after Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman tested positive, Texas A&M paused workouts and the Auburn-Mississippi State game was postponed. Appearing on ESPN Radio's "The Paul Finebaum Show" yesterday, Sankey said, "I’ve talked to you about the ‘hold your breath moments,’ generally pointing to Friday but given our testing cycle on Sunday, on Tuesday and on Thursday. Those realities play out through the week." Sankey noted all the news that came out yesterday "happened to play out in a more public way than they might on a normally quiet, peaceful week, which there are few of those in this environment.” He said the conference wants “to play the season as scheduled but the reality is the circumstances around the virus always presented a challenge and the potential for disruption." Sankey: “The adjustments may be a little bit different than we contemplated six weeks ago. But still our focus is trying to play as much of the football schedule as possible.” He added that the SEC and its 14 ADs "will discuss the possibility of playing makeup games -- not involving division champions -- on Dec. 19, if necessary." Sankey: "I'll feel comfortable after our Thanksgiving weekend games" (“The Paul Finebaum Show,” ESPN Radio, 11/9). ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough noted in order for games to be played Dec. 19, SEC ADs "would have to agree to the schedule addition and then university presidents/chancellors would have to approve it" (ESPN.com, 11/9).
TOEING THE LINE: USA TODAY's Paul Myerberg writes with cancellations "thwarting the start of Pac-12 play and another run of bad news in the SEC, the past few days have been a harsh reminder of how fragile the home stretch of this regular season will be for college football." Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said, "Everything about managing through the pandemic has been humbling. It's a year where we've all had to shift our priorities and kind of readjust expectations" (USA TODAY, 11/10). SI.com's Pat Forde wrote college football has "had a season, and it has been successful in terms of avoiding health calamities." But it "hasn't been easy -- and if anything, it is showing signs of getting harder." Last week, 49 out of 59 games "were played -- a 17% postponement/cancellation rate." That was an "uptick from the season average, which had been 14.3%." And this week is "off to a challenging start" (SI.com, 11/9).
