FAYETTEVILLE — Southeastern Conference leaders are hopeful for an on-time start to the 2020 football season, with all other FBS conferences on board.
During an interview with Jacksonville, Fla., radio station 1010XL, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Thursday he is “preparing to play football Labor Day weekend as scheduled,” but added, “I don’t know what will happen between now and then that’s going to guide us.”
“The hope is (all conferences would) move along together, and to date that’s been the conversation and collective thinking about how we might have to adjust,” Sankey said.
There are 10 conferences and seven independent schools that make up the NCAA’s largest football-playing division, the FBS. During an April 15 conference call with Vice President Mike Pence, the commissioners of those conferences, along with Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick, expressed a desire to begin the football season on the same weekend nationwide, according to The Associated Press.
Last week, Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said the SEC office and athletics directors have been in engaged in conversations about a variety of scenarios on the conference and national levels.
“Our goal nationally is to have a uniform approach to how we get a fall football season accomplished,” Yurachek said. “But in all reality you’ve got to have some other scenarios in case that doesn’t happen, because this virus is different across our country. The national approach is the No. 1 goal and the national approach is having Sept. 5, Labor Day weekend. That’s our goal, but we’re going to wait as an association and as a conference as long as we can to make that decision because the longer we’re able to wait for a decision like that, the better information we have to make that decision.
“It’s really difficult to make a decision today, but maybe we have a great deal of better information by June 1 or June 15 or July 1.”
Yurachek’s comments came on the same day South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner told his university’s trustees that conferences could potentially make their own decisions on when is best to begin the football season.
“The conferences might not be aligned,” Tanner said, according to The Athletic.
“If there’s a couple of programs that aren’t able (to start on time), does that stop everyone?” Sankey said. “I’m not sure it does, but the ability for us to stay connected I think will remain important.”