On Monday, the South Eastern Conference announced its policies regarding potential cancellations for the 2021 athletics season.
Below is the statement releases from the conference:
“In the event a team is unable to begin or complete a regular season Conference event due to the unavailability of participants (due to COVID-19, injuries or other reasons), that team will forfeit the contest and will be assigned a loss in the Conference standings,” read the conference’s post. “The opposing team that is ready to play will be credited with a win in the Conference standings. Both teams will be deemed to have played and completed the contest for purpose of the Conference standings.
“If both teams are unable to compete due to the unavailability of participants (due to COVID-19, injuries or other reasons), both teams shall be deemed to have forfeited the game, with a loss assigned to both teams and applied to the conference standings. Both teams will be deemed to have played and completed the contest for purpose of the Conference standings.
“The Commissioner retains discretion to declare a “no contest” for any event if extraordinary circumstances warrant.
“Tie-breaker procedures specific to each sport will apply for determining Conference champions, division champions where applicable, and/or seeding in Conference championship events.
“Any direct financial loss on the part of the school that was able to play a cancelled event may be submitted for consideration for reimbursement subject to approval from the SEC Executive Committee.”
The conference’s commissioner Greg Sankey had alluded to such policies in July when speaking at the SEC’s Media Days.
“We’ve not built in the kind of time we did last year, particularly at the end of the season, to accommodate disruption,” Sankey said. “And unless we’re going to do that, our teams are going to have to be fully prepared to play their season as scheduled, which is why embedded in my remarks is the vaccination motivation.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
