Following the news of the Big Ten and Pac-12 deciding to postpone their fall sports seasons to the spring, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement of his own on the two conference’s decisions.
“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today,” read Sankey’s 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 soon as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”
The specifics of what caused the two conferences to opt for a change in season are still unknown to the public, but a statement from Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren alluded to the unknown future health risks caused by the virus.
“As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall,” read Warren’s statement.
With two of the Power Five conferences gone, the fate of the fall sports season for the SEC and ACC seemingly lies in the corner of the Big 12, whose decision will likely sway the ACC.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
