Sankey said the overall financial impact of the pandemic on the SEC will be substantialGetty Images
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey even before this season began "believed it was important for the SEC to provide a definitive schedule," according to Matt Murschel of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Sankey said, "We felt that was an important message for the young people participating, our coaches and our fans to hear. Here is a new start date and here is how the season will play out and here is the finish on Dec. 19." He added, "We need a finish line because simply moving the finish line doesn’t guarantee a finish. At some point, we have to say we want to finish and name a champion." Murschel notes that also is why the CFP management committee last Wednesday announced that the semifinals "would remain on track for Jan. 1." Sankey: "Across the board in college football, we’ve been highly, highly, highly successful at actually playing games. ... We have dates. Whether an adjustment is needed or not, I’m not able to predict." But Sankey admitted that the "overall economic impact on the conference due to the pandemic is going to be substantial." Sankey: "We reduced our regular-season football schedule by 20% ... but those are typically home games. ... Then we’ve had between no crowds in some circumstances to 25% of a full stadium. That's a substantial impact" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 11/24).
