From MU AD Jim Sterk, here’s why SEC moved to conference-only fall football schedule
As the Southeastern Conference’s athletic directors, chancellors, presidents and other administrators discussed potential changes to this fall’s football schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their deliberations came down to one crucial detail:
Flexibility.
The SEC on Thursday announced that its teams will play a 10-game, conference-only schedule. The Missouri Tigers’ season thus won’t start until Sept. 26, delaying first-year Mizzou coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s debut an extra few weeks.
The decision was made in the name keeping things simple in the face of so much uncertainty.
“When it’s all in the conference, you have the ability to move games and impact and you can have those breaks,” Mizzou athletic director Jim Sterk said during a video call Thursday. “If you had allowed non-conference, it brings in every other conference in the complicated schedule.”
There are still a number of issues to iron out, Sterk said. As of now, Sterk said he wasn’t sure what MU will do with its previously scheduled non-conference games and associated contracts, including potential cancellation fees. The same uncertainty applies generally to the Tigers’ schedule — they know they’ll play 10 games but haven’t yet announced when or where those games will be.
But the SEC has at least taken a decisive step toward playing a football season this autumn.
Sterk said the SEC’s start dates were pushed back to allow campuses to begin repopulating. Soon, students will return from summer break; Sterk said that if there are any outbreaks, MU officials can hopefully bring them under control before the football opener on Sept. 26.
“As long as campus is operational, I feel like we can have football,” Sterk said. “Mizzou is planning on in-person classes and blended classes (some online, some in-person instruction) ... They (instructors) are ready to pivot and adjust as needed, as well.”
The SEC will still have divisions, with its football championship game moved to Dec. 17 instead of Dec. 5. As of now, the Tigers will kick off training camp Aug. 7 as planned, but the schedule could include more off-days or other adjustments.
The schedule is also still a work in process. Mizzou will still play its six SEC East division foes: Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Sterk said the Tigers will also play Arkansas, Mizzou’s annual SEC West rival. Mississippi State had been on the schedule, too, but the athletic director cautioned that in terms of the other three remaining dates, anything goes.
The Tigers had previously scheduled games against two SEC opponents, Vanderbilt (Sept. 12) and at South Carolina (Sept. 19), that fell before the SEC’s Sept. 26 restart date. So those two games need to be rescheduled.
Sterk was asked if there was any discussion about creating a “bubble” in which to play this year’s college football season, as done by the NBA, WNBA, MLS and National Women’s Soccer League. He said that was unlikely.
“We kind of have our bubble, if you will, while they’re working out and in our facilities,” he said. “But outside of that, we don’t have that control. You try to educate and mask up, sanitize your hands, do those kinds of things and stay as safe as possible.”
Arrowhead to CoMo
Sterk said he anticipates that Mizzou will move its game against Arkansas this season from Arrowhead Stadium to Faurot Field.
MU has been in communication with the Chiefs, but they have their own issues to deal with ahead of the NFL season. While it’s not official, Sterk indicated the annual rivalry game will still be played during the last week of the season, on Dec. 5.
“The Chiefs are dealing with their own issue with putting on their own season and having their players,” Sterk said. “They understand. We’ll at some point bring a game back there.”
Fans at Faurot
Mizzou hasn’t yet decided how many fans might be allowed at Faurot Field for games this fall, but Sterk said school officials are working in the 20% range for capacity.
It’s possible that individual game tickets won’t be sold this year, with fans in attendance limited to season ticket-holders and students. As for a requirement mandating the wearing of masks at the stadium, Sterk said that will depend on local and state guidelines.
“We’ll try to abide by the county regulations,” Sterk said. “If it’s mandatory at the time, it’ll be mandatory. We’d highly recommend it. I’m not sure where we’ll be as a state and a county by the time the games start.”