FAYETTEVILLE — The Southeastern Conference's annual football media days will be moved to a virtual setting this year, the conference announced Wednesday.
Dates for the virtual media days have not been set. The in-person media days had been scheduled for July 13-16 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
The SEC's move follows similar moves by the Big 12, Pac-12 and Group of Five conferences because of covid-19 concerns. The College Football Hall of Fame was also vandalized last week.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said conducting the media days virtually "will provide us the opportunity to manage the event in a healthy manner" and "will provide flexibility for our programs to adjust their preparation for the 2020 football season."
The virtual event will include media sessions with Sankey, the conference's 14 head coaches and athletes from each school. SEC Network will provide TV coverage.
SEC Football Media Days annually draws in excess of 1,000 credentialed media and serves as an unofficial kickoff to the college football preseason.
The SEC has hosted the event each year since 1985 in or around Birmingham, Ala., with the exception of 2018 when Media Days were moved to Atlanta for the first time. Next year's Media Days are scheduled to be conducted in Nashville, Tenn.