ACC and SEC issue statements after Big Ten and Pac-12's decisions to postpone 2020 football seasons
Both the ACC and SEC said they would continue to make decisions about a fall football season based on the advice of their medical professionals in the wake of the Big Ten and Pac-12’s decisions to not play football in 2020.
“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”
The SEC tentatively plans to start its football season on Sept. 26 with teams playing a 10-game, conference-only schedule. The conference has not released a schedule, however.
The ACC, meanwhile, is tentatively slated to start on Sept. 5. ACC teams are set to play one non-conference game and 10 conference games this fall.
“The ACC will continue to make decisions based on medical advice, inclusive of our medical advisory group, local and state health guidelines, and do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities’ academic missions,” the conference said.
“The safety of our students, staff and overall campus communities will always be our top priority, and we are pleased with the protocols being administered on our 15 campuses. We will continue to follow our process that has been in place for months and has served us well.”
“We understand the need to stay flexible and be prepared to adjust as medical information and the landscape evolves.”
The Big 12 is the other Power Five conference tentatively planning to play football in the fall. It has not released a schedule for its teams.
Six of the 10 conferences at college football’s top level are still attempting to play football. The American Athletic Conference, Conference USA and Sun Belt are also tentatively going forward with their football seasons while the Mountain West Conference and Mid-American Conference postponed their seasons before the Big Ten and Pac-12 made their decisions.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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