SEC Athletics Directors Meet In Birmingham, Greg Sankey Announces Decision Timeline

SEC athletic directors and conference officials met at the league office in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday to discuss issues surrounding the upcoming athletic season.

Following the meeting, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said that they will wait until late July to make decisions.

Per SECSports.com:

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (July 13, 2020) - The Southeastern Conference's Athletics Directors met on Monday at the SEC Office in Birmingham to discuss SEC and college athletics issues.

The athletics directors and members of the SEC staff convened Monday morning and met until late in the afternoon in the SEC's Kramer-Moore Conference Room, the largest conference room in the SEC Office which allowed for social distancing of the group. Several external groups and individuals participated by videoconference.

"We had a productive meeting on Monday and engaged in discussions on a number of important issues that will contribute to critical decisions to be made in the weeks ahead," said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. "The ability to personally interact over the course of an entire day contributed to the productivity of the meeting."

The meeting marked the first in-person meeting of the Conference athletics directors since the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in Nashville in March. The athletics directors have met multiple times per week via videoconference since the discontinuation of athletic competition in March due to the pandemic.

"It is clear that current circumstances related to COVID-19 must improve and we will continue to closely monitor developments around the virus on a daily basis," Sankey said. "In the coming weeks we will continue to meet regularly with campus leaders via videoconferences and gather relevant information while guided by medical advisors. We believe that late July will provide the best clarity for making the important decisions ahead of us."

The athletic directors heard a report from members of the SEC's Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force and discussed issues relevant to the current pre-season calendar and the approaching fall seasons of competition, including an update on current COVID-19 testing procedures.

Among the topics discussed were possible scheduling options for holding athletic competition in the fall of 2020.

Also, among the topics discussed were game management best practices for ensuring a healthy environment at athletics events for student-athletes, coaches, officials, staff and fans.

The Athletics Directors also received updates on other matters common to Conference meetings.