SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is hopeful the 2020 football season will be played as scheduled despite this spring’s coronavirus outbreak that has effectively shut down athletics in the conference.

“That’s my focus," Sankey said on a media conference call Wednesday. "I’m a half-full perspective person. I have optimism. We have taken measures, as have our colleague conferences at this time.

"If I read those health leaders, they say we’re going to have a period of time to see what happens with the growth of these cases. We’ll make decisions down the road. So for me, our responsibility is to continue to support the public health decision making but also be prepared to do our work as assigned to us.

"We’ve categorized things. One is to be focused on the work we have. The second is to make sure we’re prepared for next year as planned. And the third is to engage in big-picture thing, which is contingency planning but also strategic planning.”

In the latest of what have been cascading measures to slow the spread of the virus COVID-19, the conference announced Tuesday that all spring football games and pro days would be cancelled.

However, the ban did not include spring football practices, which have already been shelved through April 15.

Sankey on Wednesday left open the possibility of spring practices being conducted after that date.

“[The prohibition] does not apply to spring practices at this time, and I think that’s the important qualifying phrase,” Sankey said. "We have said no athletic activities through April 15. That doesn’t mean we’ll be back to normal or to practice activities April 16. It was just a date certain that allows our administrators to communicate with our coaches, our coaches with our student-athletes that has resulted in their departures from campus.

"If you look at the national public messaging about no gatherings above 50 -- it’s certainly difficult to conduct any football practice under that limitation. Even with smaller numbers that have been communicated -- 10 is often referenced -- thereby making it impossible into May, as been stated.

“I’m not going to be overly optimistic about the return to practice. We haven’t fully closed that opportunity but I think practically that window is pretty narrow.”

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With the potential for spring football practices to be wiped out, Sankey was asked about the possibility of the NCAA calendar being moved to allow football practices in May or June.

“What I’d say is let’s not just define some structure,” Sankey said. “I’m confident if we’re not able to practice further this spring, I’m confident that we’ll be seeking opportunities to make sure our teams are adequately prepared heading into the season. Elements of that are going to be guided by the public health realities in front of us."

Sankey has conducted near-daily conference calls with the league’s athletics directors and expects a “smaller group from our campuses” will explore out-of-season practices for fall sports.

“To think about, as we turn the page and head to the next chapter of 2021, given what’s occurred, the disruption that’s occurred, how do we best allow our teams and support our teams in preparation,” he said.

Sankey added that SEC spring meetings are still scheduled but contingency planning is taking place. Planning for SEC media days in Atlanta this July is “full steam ahead," Sankey said.

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He also reiterated circumstances could change quickly.

“Our focus is on preparing for the [2020-21] academic year, the fall season, as currently scheduled," he said. "There’s a period on the end of that sentence. We’ll obviously think about everything going forward, because we’re being guided by public health information and decision-making. But my hope is we can return to our normal organized team activities, our normal experiences, and be part of that celebration around soccer, volleyball, cross country, football in the fall. But we’ll have to see.

"Last week at this time, I was preparing for basketball games [at the SEC men’s tournament], and I think all of us will have a responsibility to contingency plan appropriately without making predictions.”

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