The stadium is quiet ahead of the Tigers’ home opener against Mississippi State during the coronavirus pandemic, Saturday, September 26, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La
The stadium is calm ahead of the Tigers’ home opener against Mississippi State during the coronavirus pandemic, Saturday, September 26, 2020, in Baton Rouge, La
Greg Sankey recorded a presentation slide of a sports directors meeting in mid-July This week, the Southeastern Conference commissioner saw fit to recall
Rivalry Week started with a call, a rash appeal to a crowded crowd in the midst of a global pandemic, and it ended, days later, when a coronavirus erupted…
All the planning, all the protocols, all the delayed practice and regular season dates, all the planning hoops collided to ensure postponement possibilities – ???? all the effort and thought that league leaders combined still couldn’t fully prepare for an unpredictable and sneaky virus that borders the ubiquitous
The unbearable and mysterious nature of COVID-19 was enough to postpone the season entirely, some medical experts said this summer, and the majority of small college football conferences are postponing their seasons to spring because they did not have the will or resources to play sports in the event of a pandemic
The SEC was one of six FBS conferences that have moved ahead, accepting the risks of a virus that has infected eight million Americans and killed more than 200,000 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only two-tenths of for percent of the deaths were in people aged 15 to 24, and this small percentage was among the factors that made the risk reasonable among league members, although the virus « long- term effects are not yet fully known
The SEC and the others therefore proceeded, implementing a litany of precautions to mitigate major epidemics
Mask warrants Testing three times a week Frequent sanitation of facilities and constant medical checks with team medics An additional week before the SEC championship game to move regular season games if they need to be postponed
The University of Florida has suspended sports activities due to an increase in positive coronavirus tests among soccer players this week,…
The SEC was poised to face positive infections within its squads, and when his delayed and shortened league-only season began uninterrupted for three weeks, Sankey told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum on Wednesday that it was « a pleasant surprise »
As the league season went smoothly, the other major conferences, which had previously postponed their seasons, announced their return this fall: the Big Ten and Mountain West on October 24; the Mid-American on November 4; the Pac-12 in November 6
Pundits applauded Sankey’s cautious forethought, and confidence grew enough that Florida coach Dan Mullen last week asked school administrators to « wrap the swamp « with a capacity of nearly 90,000 fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
It was then that the SEC began to encounter circumstances it could not have imagined.In a dizzying and eventful week, the league was struck in the teeth by a succession of disturbing developments linked to coronaviruses
Missouri-Vanderbilt and Florida-LSU have both been postponed to December 12 due to COVID-19 spikes in Vanderbilt and Florida programs Ole Miss announced she was experiencing her first mid-season epidemic
“While we’re surprised by what’s going on, we’re not surprised,” Sankey told Finebaum, “and it’s all part of the preparation and the conversation. But we all have work to do to stay in good health and have a successful season in a positive way «
The SEC has now reached a critical juncture, the initial breach of its contingency plan, and is now trying to move forward
In total, there have now been at least 32 FBS games postponed or canceled due to coronavirus outbreaks The University of Houston was among schools with multiple disruptions; the school had four games postponed or canceled altogether before finally starting their season with a 49-31 win over Tulane in October 8
Including Saban, 68, seven FBS head coaches have tested positive for coronavirus – ???? a few of them in high risk age groups: Kevin Sumlin from Arizona (56), Blake Anderson from Arkansas State (51), Mike Norvell from Florida State ( 39), The Miles of Kansas (66), Jason Candle of Toledo (40), UCLA’s Chip Kelly (56)
South East Conference commissioner Greg Sankey reportedly sent a heavily worded memo to conference coaches and the athletic director last week…
Almost all of the trainers had mild symptoms Anderson had a 10-day fever in September Saban told reporters on Wednesday that « I am feeling fine » and that he is « not very concerned » about what has so far been an asymptomatic experience
Saban said his biggest concern is that once teams start to leave their facilities for road games, the circumstances become much more difficult to control.
“When we are in our personal bubble here I think everyone is in a much safer place,” said Saban “I think as soon as you travel you are exposed to a lot more things and a lot more people, if that makes sense Even though I wore a mask on the sidelines, I wear a mask all the time in hotels, on the bus, on the plane nobody really knows how this happens «
College football couldn’t function in an isolated bubble, like the NBA built in Orlando, Florida, where, from July to October, the professional basketball league did not experience a single reported case of COVID -19
The SEC situation is more like what the Miami Marlins experienced this summer, when for eight days the team sat in limbo on the road after 18 players and two coaches tested positive after their season opener in Philadelphia
GAINESVILLE, Florida a ???? Florida coach Dan Mullen, who last week wanted 90,000 fans crammed inside the stadium amid a pandemic, says he’s tested p…
Even so, baseball is a non-contact sport, and MLB players are professionals who don’t spend time taking classes on college campuses The expanded variables that college football presents make it more difficult looking for the source of an outbreak, and sometimes programs only end up with theories about where it all started
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin also identified travel as a potential issue He said during the 11 weeks the Gators have been preparing for the season, from summer to September, the sports had only 10 positive cases
The Florida outbreak last week, which included 21 players and two assistant coaches, followed the team’s trip to Texas A&M
« The travel situation, I think, is going to be under very careful scrutiny, » Stricklin told reporters on Wednesday « I think some NFL teams have had issues with this very thing. It’s no secret that it’s the only part of the sport that’s a little more complicated »
Indeed, several NFL teams have dealt with positive cases The Tennessee Titans suffered the biggest outbreak after their road game against the Minnesota Vikings, and the franchise had to postpone two of its games this month -this
Dr Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine, said travel introduces problematic situations Placing people especially in small, cramped spaces with little ventilation: buses and planes Then there are the hotel stays and environments where there is less control than if the program were in its own facilities
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban will be sidelined during Crimson Tide’s game against Georgia after a third in a row…
« We all try to do our best, » said Del Rio, who is a member of the NCAA’s COVID-19 advisory board, « but the best isn’t always possible »
Del Rio said in August that communities are expected to have fewer than 10 new daily cases per 100,000 population and a test-positive rate of less than 10%, although these specifics are not part of any mandate from the NCAA
Such rates would show that there is a sufficiently low virus transmission in the community to safely engage in several activities, including contact sports. On Friday, only the parish of East Baton Rouge met both criteria
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Sankey recently sent a note to SEC members to tighten up the behavior, saying there would be fines for not following the league’s COVID-19 protocols According to ESPN, several SEC schools will be sentenced to $ 100,000 fine for breaches last week For every week a school does not follow protocols, report says school conference income will be reduced by $ 100,000
The Florida and Vanderbilt outbreaks have dropped their rosters below the SEC’s 53-player limit, and Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason told reporters on Wednesday that while there is had outbreaks, « I don’t think anyone owes anyone an apology » because « we are dealing with times that no one has seen or gone through before »
« We’re playing football in a pandemic, » Mason said, and after each round of testing on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, « everyone’s holding their breath Everyone’s through the conference »
Florida’s Stricklin still holds his breath On Wednesday, the Gators still lacked contact tracing data that would reveal how many team members will need to quarantine due to the high-risk exposure of the nearly two dozens of people who test positive According to SEC policy, players who test positive must self-isolate for at least 10 days and those at high risk must be quarantined for 14 days
Florida’s game next week against Missouri has also been postponed To avoid giving Missouri an unscheduled two-week break, SEC has moved Tigers home game against Kentucky on October 31 per week, then tentatively scheduled Florida-Missouri for October 31
– We have no control over what is going on in Florida and we wish them the best, â ???? Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said on Wednesday: ‘And whatever the SEC sees as the next step for all of us is what we will adhere toat ????
The SEC is almost halfway through its season Nine weeks still in conference to rebound from its first coronavirus setback, before the league plays its title game on December 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta , Georgia
« Testing won’t solve the problem, » said Sankey « Hygiene won’t solve the problem Social distancing alone won’t solve the problem Wearing masks All of this together is meant to make us feel better position to be healthy as we progress, and it will give us satisfaction if we can achieve this goal in a significant way »
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World News – United States – SEC First Coronavirus Setback What Next?
