KTGR ESPN 100.5 FM & 1580 AM
The Southeastern Conference will keep its football within the family for the upcoming season.
The league’s announcement Thursday of a 10-game, conference-only football campaign comes with a Sept. 26th start date. A release from the SEC says the delay is a chance to see how other leagues return to play, and give public health leaders more time to observe and react to potential spikes of COVID-19 as students and staff return for fall semesters. An SEC Championship Game is set for Dec. 19th.
NEWS | @SEC establishes new football start date of September 26 and Conference-only football competition.https://t.co/UhFFOfQ2lK
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) July 30, 2020
Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk held a conference call with the media following the release of the league’s plan. Among the information he offered:
- Missouri doesn’t yet know what the league’s ruling means for potential payouts to previously scheduled non-conference opponents (Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, BYU and Louisiana).
- Mizzou Athletics hasn’t made a final decision on a capacity limit at Memorial Stadium yet, but is leaning towards a model limiting seating to 20% of capacity.
- Details of the football schedule will still be determined, but Sterk expects MU to get a break in it at some point (instead of 10 consecutive weeks of games).
- Sterk says it is likely Arkansas will play Missouri in Columbia, MO this season (instead of Arrowhead Stadium as scheduled), though that game is likely to remain at the end of the regular season.
- There has been no word from the SEC on further pushing back the start date for fall-season Olympic sports (it’s already been delayed to August 31st), but Sterk expects that will be discussed soon among conference leaders.
- Sterk says schedules for volleyball and soccer teams have not been set yet, but are trending towards a conference-only model as well.
Listen to the full media conference call with Missouri Director of Athletics Jim Sterk below:
