SEC suspends spring football, putting Eliah Drinkwitz’s Mizzou practices on hold
Less than a week after the Eliah Drinkwitz era began at Mizzou, it’s being postponed.
The SEC announced on Friday all team activities, including “competitions, team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings” are suspended through at least April 15. The SEC originally suspended all competition through March 30 because of COVID-19 coronavirus concerns.
On Friday, the SEC pushed back the date further while limiting team events — including spring football. On April 15, the SEC plans to re-evaluate conditions and determine if it’s possible to reinstate organized team activities and competition. Team meetings must conclude no later than 5 p.m. Monday.
The SEC also will continue to provide athletes with academics, medical care, mental health and wellness, nutrition, and housing as needed, a release said.
Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk said the SEC and all of its athletic directors will have a daily conference call.
“Trying to just share information, trying to be most effective that way,” Sterk said. “In the end, do the best thing we can try not to prevent this virus to continue to grow. We don’t want to be the ones to be spreading that. That’s at the core of what we’re trying to do.”
Mizzou will need to reschedule or cancel its spring football game, originally scheduled for April 11. For now, it’s indefinitely suspended, much like the spring football practices.
Sterk said he told Drinkwitz the Tigers should eventually be able to finish the rest of their spring practices. But with so much uncertainty, it’s difficult to pinpoint when.
The Mizzou football team started practice March 7 and completed three of its 15 allotted spring practices, most recently on Wednesday. The Tigers’ 1:30 p.m. Friday practice was canceled a couple of hours before it was set to start.
“You’re not going to lose that practice,” Sterk said. “At some point in time, in my mind, you’ll be able to make up those days to make up any lost over those few weeks.”
Originally, for spring football and other matters like camps and clinics, the SEC left jurisdiction to each school’s athletic director. On Thursday in Nashville, Sterk said all in-season spring sports and the football team were set to continue practices.
But that changed after a teleconference with SEC athletic directors Friday.
The SEC also implemented recruiting restrictions Thursday. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey called on the NCAA to form similar rules.
The NCAA did just that, creating a temporary dead period for recruiting. All on- and off-campus recruiting has been halted until at least April 15. Phone calls and text messages are still allowed between coaches and recruits.
April 15 is the same date as the first day of the spring signing period for basketball. For coaches who have open scholarships hoping to sign recruits — like Mizzou coach Cuonzo Martin’s team — they’ll have to do so without face-to-face recruiting.
Student-athlete travel
The University of Missouri suspended classes this week citing coronavirus concerns, planning to restart classes online next Monday. After spring break, plans were for in-person classes when students return on March 30, but Saturday the University of Missouri system canceled in-person classes through the end of the semester.
With the football team and other in-season sports not practicing, Sterk said athletes are free to go home during the break. Coaches will check in, but students are not prohibited from traveling. Otherwise, dining halls and other facilities will be available at Mizzou for the athletes.
“We’ll be able to feed them, give them medical care and academic support,” Sterk said. “That’s going to be a case by case basis. It won’t be something that the coaches will dictate.”
Extra year
The NCAA canceled all winter and spring sports championships across all divisions Thursday, which included the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Sterk said he was surprised the NCAA canceled the spring championships.
With the cancellations, an NCAA council recommended on Friday that athletes competing in the spring should get eligibility relief. Further details need to be finalized, but it could give athletes an extra year of eligibility. Spring sports include baseball, softball and track and field.
But Sterk warned it’s not as easy as tacking on an extra year of eligibility for students. It’ll have a lasting effect on the roster, whether it’s through scholarships, playing time or other factors.
Sterk said if he would have to guess — considering the NCAA already canceled the spring championships — spring sports won’t be played this season. But based on the timing, and if there’s enough season left, a restart at some point could be in the works.
“If it’s only a week, then I would say no,” Sterk said. “But if it can be substantial enough, then I would say yeah, it’s worth salvaging. … I don’t know at what point if it’s not going to happen.”
Postseason ban still in flux
The Mizzou baseball and softball teams are banned from the postseason this year. Sterk said he reached out to the NCAA for clarification on the matter, but he hasn’t received an answer yet. Much like he said Thursday, he believes it should only be applied for this year and should not be carried over.
“In the penalty, it’s for the 2020 season,” Sterk said. “That’s what we think should happen and I would say that’s appropriate.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 3:45 PM.