Alabama Football: SEC Athletic Directors meet Monday to discuss options

Alabama Football: Greg Bryne and other SEC, ADs to meet Monday in Birmingham.

Does fall Alabama football hinge on a meeting Monday? Only Greg Sankey and the 14 SEC Athletic Directors know. There are indications the Monday meeting in Birmingham will be to discuss options rather than make any decisions.

With the Big Ten and the Pac 12 already moving away from out-of-conference games, the least likely eventual option appears to be a 12-game regular-season schedule. Bama Hammer recently suggested an attractive option would be a nine or ten-game schedule. The primary motivation for the suggestion was to lobby for optimism.

From an Alabama football standpoint, all that is known is the Crimson Tide will not play Southern Cal on Sept. 5. TCU, having a Sept. 5 opening after a canceled game with Cal, is believed to still be available. If the ACC and Big 12 also drop out-of-conference competition, and BYU and Notre Dame do as well, every SEC team will be short one Power Five game. If the SEC does the same, only eight conference games would be left.

The Georgia Bulldogs would be down two Power Five games; Virginia and Georgia Tech. There are widespread expectations that at least a ninth SEC conference game would be added to make up for the canceled games.

Building a new 2020, regular-season schedule will be difficult. It would the easiest task the conference and schools will face. The tougher ones will be whether or not to allow fan attendance. And if so, how far stadium capacities would be reduced.

If the second of the tough tasks cannot be resolved, another option must be considered. It is a spring season. According to SI.com, at least one SEC AD does not think a fall season can happen.

"I think spring is more viable than fall. What we have currently scheduled is not realistic. If somebody told me we could play conference-only in the fall, that would be great. But I’m not sure we can play one game, let alone a full conference schedule."

The cons seem to outweigh the pros for a spring season. Finishing in late May or June would suggest the 2021 season could not start on-time. Not to mention, players expecting a move to the NFL may fear spring season injuries could harm their first-year NFL chances.

A lesser concern about spring is the question of what to do about basketball. Can all schools adequately support both sports at the same time?

Some Alabama football fans question if no out-of-conference games would minimize the risks of virus spread. Keep in mind, schools must be concerned about liability issues related to the virus. SEC schools have the funds and the conference has the control to ensure all safety protocols are maintained. Some out-of-conference schools may not have the resources or controls to achieve what the SEC will eventually require.

Whatever option is chosen, the SEC ADs (and their school Presidents) have an almost insurmountable burden. Unknowns will remain. That is why it is believed many SEC ADs want to put off fall season decisions for another two or three weeks.

In the past week, SEC Commissioner, Greg Sankey said the league is “running out-of-time” to go forward this fall. Sankey added,

"The direct reality is not good, and the notion that we’ve politicized medical guidance of distancing, and breathing masks, and hand sanitization, ventilation of being outside, being careful where you are in buildings. You can’t mitigate and eliminate every risk, but how do you minimize the risk?"

And that ‘minimized’ risk is the hinge point. How to define it and execute it must be determined soon. We all want college football this fall, but at the least, in a no-fans setting, players, coaches and workers must not be put at inordinate risk.

Check back with Bama Hammer often. We will continue to share what we learn and what we think about this unprecedented issue.