SEC targets late July for COVID-19 decision-making

[aubiefifty 16,743]

AU Football

SEC targets late July for COVID-19 decision-making

Justin Lee | Auburn Reporter
Opelika-Auburn News
jlee@oanow.com
Follow on Twitter @AUBlog|@ByJustinLee

Jul 13, 2020 Updated 12 hrs ago

The Southeastern Conference athletics directors met Monday in Birmingham and decided to table decisions about the upcoming fall schedule until late July, according to a release from the conference sent out Monday afternoon.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was quoted as saying that the circumstances related to COVID-19 ‘must improve’ as the SEC considers playing football and other sports this fall.

The Big Ten and Pac 12 last week announced that teams at their member schools will only play conference games, if at all, this fall.

Auburn’s start to the fall semester is scheduled for Aug. 17. Its first football game is currently scheduled for Sept. 5.

Two Division I conferences, the Ivy League and the Patriot League, have announced they won’t be fielding sports this fall. Auburn’s closest college football rival, the Tuskegee Golden Tigers, won’t play football in the fall either after its conference in Division II, the SIAC, announced suspension of sports until January.

In Monday’s release, the SEC said its athletics directors discussed scheduling possibilities for fall sports and safety practices for potential gamedays among other topics, while hearing reports on current COVID-19 testing procedures from the task force the conference assembled to advise on a return to activity.

“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 release. “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 meeting marks the first for the conference athletics directors since the men’s basketball SEC Tournament in Nashville back in March. The group has been meeting regularly by videoconferencing but Sankey said the in-person nature of Monday’s meeting contributed to productivity. The SEC insisted the meeting took place in a large meeting room where social distancing was practiced.

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[passthebiscuits 6,844]

Just kicking the can down the road. I fear we are getting close to no football this fall.  Hope I’m wrong. 

[Mike4AU 1,739]

32 minutes ago, passthebiscuits said:

Just kicking the can down the road. I fear we are getting close to no football this fall.  Hope I’m wrong. 

Unfortunately, I agree. 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

40 minutes ago, passthebiscuits said:

Just kicking the can down the road. I fear we are getting close to no football this fall.  Hope I’m wrong. 

I'd much rather them wait as long as they can to make a decision than make a quick decision with still over 6 weeks until games are played.  

[ellitor 33,080]

3 hours ago, passthebiscuits said:

Just kicking the can down the road. I fear we are getting close to no football this fall.  Hope I’m wrong. 

I’ve pretty much conceded that you are right. Without going into anything political way too many people in our country just aren’t & didn’t take it seriously as compared to other countries who have gotten their numbers under control.

[ellitor 33,080]

39 minutes ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

I'd much rather them wait as long as they can to make a decision than make a quick decision with still over 6 weeks until games are played.  

Unless a quality vaccine comes through then nothing will have changed in six weeks at least on the positive side of trying to get football played.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

58 minutes ago, ellitor said:

I’ve pretty much conceded that you are right. Without going into anything political way too many people in our country just aren’t didn’t take it seriously as compared to other countries who have gotten their numbers under control.

Had MawMaw Ivey threatened to take football away, you'd have seen a fleet of utility trucks pulling a China, welding folks' doors shut 😅

That said, without getting too political... I think no one really knows anything. Some reports say that the testing may provide false positives as it only detects corona-family of viruses (including the common cold)... Currently the CDC guidelines say that asymptomatic carriers can't transmit the virus.... Some reports say it's airborne... Some have been tested days apart; first positive, then negative... Masks work, then they don't, then they do again... Herd immunity works, then it doesn't, then it does again.

I think it's a bit unfair to blame the public for the persistence of Covid-19.  Even the few outright defiant folks were still socially distanced by proxy.

But these last three and a half months of flippant, reactionary leadership have gotten on my last nerve.

[WarTim 3,456]

I hope I am right for a change. I still believe there is too much $$$ involved to not have a season of some type. Time will tell. 

[ellitor 33,080]

29 minutes ago, WarTim said:

I hope I am right for a change. I still believe there is too much $$$ involved to not have a season of some type. Time will tell. 

Barring a vaccine the only thing I could see is split the season into Fall & Spring with 4 or 5 games each semester with 2 weeks in between games.

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

I've got major Covid fatigue (I'm watching Soccer for the love of God) and I'm ready for things to go back to normal but I wish the NCAA would just move the season to the spring and stop kicking this can down the road. Start January 9th and play through the end of March. If it's too cold up north make them play only day games or start at the end of January and play through April. If neutral sites can't accommodate the new dates then play on campus and split the revenue or something. Start the 2021 season in mid-October and play through January. Play 2022 on time. 

[AuMarine 1,372]

2 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Had MawMaw Ivey threatened to take football away, you'd have seen a fleet of utility trucks pulling a China, welding folks' doors shut 😅

That said, without getting too political... I think no one really knows anything. Some reports say that the testing may provide false positives as it only detects corona-family of viruses (including the common cold)... Currently the CDC guidelines say that asymptomatic carriers can't transmit the virus.... Some reports say it's airborne... Some have been tested days apart; first positive, then negative... Masks work, then they don't, then they do again... Herd immunity works, then it doesn't, then it does again.

I think it's a bit unfair to blame the public for the persistence of Covid-19.  Even the few outright defiant folks were still socially distanced by proxy.

But these last three and a half months of flippant, reactionary leadership have gotten on my last nerve.

The problem with the changing circumstances of Covid is that realistically when scientist are studying a disease and looking for a vaccine, it takes years .. not weeks.. That’s why the goal post (so to speak) keeps moving. Like you said, mask, no mask, airborne, not airborne, heat kills it.. wait no it doesn’t. Asymptomatic people can’t transmit it.. oh wait yes they can.. We want a vaccine right now.. today but scientifically that is not possible at least if you do it right. Could be a long haul before we see an effective one.  

[weagl1 1,782]

6 hours ago, passthebiscuits said:

Just kicking the can down the road. I fear we are getting close to no football this fall.  Hope I’m wrong. 

I think you are correct.  Even if they decide to start the season as soon as players and coaches start getting infected it will have to be shut down.  I would rather they agree to call it off for the fall and play a few big games in the spring (provided we get a vaccine by the end of January) with all players maintaining a year of eligibility.  

[Win4AU 4,052]

I’m not a doctor nor am I a fortune teller but as bad as things are now this can’t last forever.  At some point there will be a plateau and decline even if this virus doesn’t completely go away. The speed at which the state and nation gets to that point will determine how soon or if there is a season.  I for one have no problem starting the season late or even the spring.   I guess the argument is NFL bound players wouldn’t play in the Spring and it’d be a mess with b-ball games and what not.  I think those are both things that could be figured out by spring.   At the end of the day this is all for entertainment and people’s lives shouldn’t be put in jeopardy for a sport.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

2 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

There are a bunch of nations who have flattened the curve and are doing considerably better than we are. It might be time for our ‘leaders’ ( I use the term loosely) to find out how other places did it and emulate the same actions they took. It sure is looking bleak for football this fall.  

Well that's where the debate gets political. Other countries don't have the same kind of freedoms Americans have, and my contention to the lockdown measures has been the lack of sunset clauses.

I think had we had the legal guarantee that 1) we would financially secure during a lockdown and 2) that said lockdown would only last a specified length of time... People would have been more on-board. Instead many Americans could not afford to quarantine especially when they felt healthy to begin with.

But bringing it back to football... I think the right approach is to delay as long as possible. It is much easier to have plans and cancel last minute than it is to preemptively cancel and then reschedule should conditions improve.

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

Hey @passthebiscuits can you share your thoughts on the Moderna news that broke today?

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/14/moderna-says-its-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-produced-robust-immune-response-in-all-patients.html

[passthebiscuits 6,844]

Sure. Thanks for asking. 
 

I guess I have several thoughts. First, I’m reluctant to believe that we can make an RNA vaccine, especially one this quickly and to be effective against what we now know to be several strains of the virus. That’s not to say that we can’t, but we just don’t have a history of doing that. 
 

Second, I’m wary that the news is from a company that is led by Dr. Fauci. Now, understand me that I don’t have anything negative to say about the good doctor, but he (and many others) have a vested interest ($$$) in seeing this vaccine succeed.

 

But lastly, I’m happy to see the stocks moving up with this news today, and we need hope—any of it. 
 

I’m praying that the vaccine is safe, effective and affordable. We need an effective and palatable approach to this virus...yesterday.

 

what about you guys? Whatcha thinking? 

[AUloggerhead 2,227]

1 hour ago, passthebiscuits said:

Sure. Thanks for asking. 
 

I guess I have several thoughts. First, I’m reluctant to believe that we can make an RNA vaccine, especially one this quickly and to be effective against what we now know to be several strains of the virus. That’s not to say that we can’t, but we just don’t have a history of doing that. 
 

Second, I’m wary that the news is from a company that is led by Dr. Fauci. Now, understand me that I don’t have anything negative to say about the good doctor, but he (and many others) have a vested interest ($$$) in seeing this vaccine succeed.

 

But lastly, I’m happy to see the stocks moving up with this news today, and we need hope—any of it. 
 

I’m praying that the vaccine is safe, effective and affordable. We need an effective and palatable approach to this virus...yesterday.

 

what about you guys? Whatcha thinking? 

I just think there's too much uncertainty re the virus/strains for a GO decision.  What do you think about this article suggesting that adults update their MMR vaccine as a possible mitigation/preventative measure?  I have an annual exam coming up in about a month & I'm going to run it by my doc.  

[DAG 33,964]

18 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Had MawMaw Ivey threatened to take football away, you'd have seen a fleet of utility trucks pulling a China, welding folks' doors shut 😅

That said, without getting too political... I think no one really knows anything. Some reports say that the testing may provide false positives as it only detects corona-family of viruses (including the common cold)... Currently the CDC guidelines say that asymptomatic carriers can't transmit the virus.... Some reports say it's airborne... Some have been tested days apart; first positive, then negative... Masks work, then they don't, then they do again... Herd immunity works, then it doesn't, then it does again.

I think it's a bit unfair to blame the public for the persistence of Covid-19.  Even the few outright defiant folks were still socially distanced by proxy.

But these last three and a half months of flippant, reactionary leadership have gotten on my last nerve.

I like a lot what you are saying , but I am going to respectively disagree regarding accountability of the public. There are a lot of folks out here who wouldn’t do the simplest things , which include hand hygiene. Yes, the information has been inconsistent , but what has been consistently pushed has been wearing a mask in public and even now people are still fighting this.
 

I am going to even go further and say this does not strictly associate with COVID. As a healthcare provider , I am in cardiovascular medicine and we all know that heart disease is the number one cause of mortality rates in the US, yet the public absolutely will not do the simplest forms of preventive care: moderate alcohol intake , decreasing smoking habits , reducing salt intake , modifying diets , exercising. I can promise you if I was a secret shopper and took a blind survey of the people who actually followed hand hygiene appropriately , it would be an epic fail.

I am certain of this opinion because I do this in the healthcare system and the numbers there are alarmingly bad. These are people who absolutely know hand hygiene is the best preventive measure you can take and diminishing risk of infectious diseases. I mean the leaders of Texas and Florida knew the risk of COVID, especially with it being unknown and they pretty much said we are going to do us anyway. Now, they are walking it back. Heck, you can even look at some of the threads on here and read the responses that @McLoofusand @Quietmaninthecorner got from previous threads and see posters here have a very dismissive attitude. So yes, I would argue that the public has a lot of accountability that they most own to this. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

19 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Even the few outright defiant folks

Few?

All due respect, that is a wildly inaccurate descriptor. 

[DAG 33,964]

5 minutes ago, boisnumber1 said:

Best of luck to him. He toughed it out, just not an SEC caliber back. All this talk of underutilized is laughable.

Wrong thread

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

11 hours ago, passthebiscuits said:

Second, I’m wary that the news is from a company that is led by Dr. Fauci. Now, understand me that I don’t have anything negative to say about the good doctor, but he (and many others) have a vested interest ($$$) in seeing this vaccine succeed.

Come again? I think you may be mistaken.

[ToraGirl 5,498]

20 hours ago, WalkingCarpet said:

I've got major Covid fatigue (I'm watching Soccer for the love of God) and I'm ready for things to go back to normal but I wish the NCAA would just move the season to the spring and stop kicking this can down the road. Start January 9th and play through the end of March. If it's too cold up north make them play only day games or start at the end of January and play through April. If neutral sites can't accommodate the new dates then play on campus and split the revenue or something. Start the 2021 season in mid-October and play through January. Play 2022 on time. 

Football is a small microcosm of the big pic, but this is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that makes so much sense to me and may have positive effects in the big picture, too.  Well-played, Chewie!  

[aubiefifty 16,743]

21 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

Had MawMaw Ivey threatened to take football away, you'd have seen a fleet of utility trucks pulling a China, welding folks' doors shut 😅

That said, without getting too political... I think no one really knows anything. Some reports say that the testing may provide false positives as it only detects corona-family of viruses (including the common cold)... Currently the CDC guidelines say that asymptomatic carriers can't transmit the virus.... Some reports say it's airborne... Some have been tested days apart; first positive, then negative... Masks work, then they don't, then they do again... Herd immunity works, then it doesn't, then it does again.

I think it's a bit unfair to blame the public for the persistence of Covid-19.  Even the few outright defiant folks were still socially distanced by proxy.

But these last three and a half months of flippant, reactionary leadership have gotten on my last nerve.

not me. i see way more folks without masks than with. it is very sad to me. people in my area have gotten nasty around here when they are told no mask no service. tomorrow anniston goes on a mandatory mask rule.

 

 

 

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,137]

One a lot of other countries have started to have a second round so may not be as good as many think. While infections in US are very high mortality per million is much lower than in most countries that have good reporting standards like Europe. There are exception like New Zealand and Australia that have done very well. Some of the European countries were hit so hard they may be starting to have the numbers to have herd protection. 

To this day we are still getting Scientific experts who disagree about the disease. Texas, Florida, and a few other states are getting infection numbers per day as high as New York but are having much lower mortality rates possibly the disease has mutated and is not as dangerous or we have more information then at beginning and we are better at treating it. In the beginning they were putting people on Ventilators early on and I have read that they think that hurt the treatment for many and to only use ventilators as a last resort.

A vaccine would be great and there are at least two in US that are being fast tracked plus I have read about other countries that are fast tracking their own. That said I think end of year is earliest for that. There is still so much we don't know. I want football so bad I can taste it but  I could really see waiting and doing football in the spring this year.  

While I normally don't like kicking a problem down the road this is the best way to handle this letting us make decisions as we have more information if Outbreak is still bad at end of month push season back a bit wait till middle of August and then decide whether we can play in the fall.  I believe answer will be no but I would like to wait a bit more.

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, AuburnNTexas said:

One a lot of other countries have started to have a second round so may not be as good as many think.

Except our first wave still hasn't even crested. So yes, those countries are doing much better than us.