SEC cancels the rest of spring sports because of coronavirus outbreak
Four University of South Carolina athletic teams still had games scheduled after the SEC’s April 15 deadline following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Now none of those teams even had the glimmer of hope they might finish things out.
The SEC officially ended all spring sports seasons in response to the rapidly spreading worldwide pandemic. There had been some small hope teams could reconvene later in the year despite NCAA spring championships having already been canceled.
The tweet read: “The @SEC has announced all regular season conference and non-conference competitions are cancelled for remainder of the 2019-20 athletic year, including all Spring FB Games and remaining SEC championship events, due to continuing developments related to the coronavirus.”
Only Gamecocks baseball, softball and men’s and women’s track had regular season events past the deadline.
“This is a difficult day for all of us, and I am especially disappointed for our student-athletes,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “The health and well-being of our entire conference community is an ongoing priority for the SEC as we continue to monitor developments and information about the COVID-19 virus.”
Several other conferences have taken the same steps, including the ACC earlier in they day.
The SEC’s release said “athletics activities, including team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings,” remain suspended until April 15.
With many fall schedules not yet set, the soonest scheduled Gamecocks event is the football opener on Sept. 5. When schedules come out, soccer will likely be the first sport back on a field or court
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 3:04 PM.
