Timeline comes into focus for deciding football season details, Ray Tanner says
Things won’t be normal around college campuses this fall, and South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner made that clear to Gamecock fans on Friday.
Tanner penned a letter posted to USC’s website about challenges for the school, athletics and fans heading into the next few months because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“We know what was lost in the spring semester. We do not really know what we could lose in the fall semester, but we are working through the various scenarios,” Tanner wrote. “A return to normal will not happen this fall. We are trying to determine what the new ‘normal’ will be.”
South Carolina has been planning for reduced fan capacity at Williams-Brice Stadium this fall because of social distancing guidelines. That will affect how tickets are sold and distributed. Tanner in early May suggested mid-July as a possible time when things might come into focus in regards to capacity and ticket distribution.
On Friday he said the goal is to communicate the plan for football season by “early August.” His comments come a few days after Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said on the “Rich Eisen Show” that he will know by “probably a late-July time period” about the SEC’s plan for playing college football this year.
“We do not know what the 2020 football season will look like,” Tanner wrote.
Most college football teams are at least planning for a full season of games, with the expectation that anything can happen in regards to scheduling changes.
Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks returned to campus earlier in June to begin voluntary workouts. That’ll become more structured and detailed on July 13, or 25 days before practice officially starts.
Tanner, in his letter, also mentioned the cost-cutting measures the university has made within the athletic department. Football coach Will Muschamp, basketball Frank Martin and women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley have taken voluntary salary reductions. Many USC staff members are required to take furloughs that range between two to four weeks.
Tanner said last week there could be 10% to 15% more cuts made to spending.
The university released its budget for the upcoming season. Based on the numbers presented, it appears the projected budget assumes a full football stadium. The projected ticket revenue falls by $1.387 million ($20.9 million to $19.5 million), but Tanner said that is because of a less attractive home football slate (Alabama and Clemson came to Columbia last year).
Overall, the projected revenue is just more than $127 million, up less than $2 million from last year. Expenses are projected to rise slightly to just more than $114 million, although that does not account for voluntary pay cuts.
The state of South Carolina’s daily COVID-19 case counts have been near or above record levels for the last nearly three weeks, an indicator that the virus’ activity is increasing.
Tanner said earlier this month he is optimistic about fans being able to be at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“I will never give up pursuing what our program needs to adequately represent the student-athletes, coaches and staff, fans, and the University with class, dignity, and victory,” Tanner said. “Be safe and healthy this summer and do your part in stopping the spread of this virus, including social distancing and wearing your Gamecock-branded face coverings.”
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Here is the full letter from Tanner:
“A sport’s season is long, with many opportunities and challenges arising, and pivotal decisions that need to be made along the way.
One of the great things about a sport season is that you learn about yourself and your teammates and the results can define a team.
On June 25, 2010, we were at that point in a long season that decisions needed to be made if our baseball team would be able to continue to a National Championship.
We had come out of the loser’s bracket and needed to beat Clemson twice to keep our season going. We had taxed many of our pitchers and were contemplating who to use as our next starter. Post-season baseball can do that.
We turned to a junior left-hander that had not started all year – Michael Roth. He knew what he had to do. Our team knew what it had to do. And I knew what I had to do. The rest, as they say, is history.
We are at a pivotal point in our athletics department history now.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit a lot of businesses hard. Higher education and college athletics are no exception.
We know what was lost in the spring semester. We do not really know what we could lose in the fall semester, but we are working through the various scenarios. A return to normal will not happen this fall. We are trying to determine what the new “normal” will be.
You have likely seen reports from other Power 5 schools around the country on what they are doing to make ends meet, from salary cuts to furloughs and budget reductions. We have discussed all of those options and more in our athletics department.
You may have already seen that Coach Muschamp, Coach Staley, Coach Martin and I have taken voluntary salary reductions. Late last week, it was announced that many of our staff will be required to take furloughs this year, ranging between 2-4 weeks. The Coronavirus will dictate if we must do more. That is one of the challenges.
At this point, we do not know what the 2020 football season will look like. Our goal is to communicate the plan for the season in early August. We want to be able to gather as much information as possible, working with the SEC office and the member institutions before any decisions are made.
These are challenging, and, yes, agonizing times. As a coach and administrator, my vow is to provide student-athletes with the resources to compete at the highest level, whether it be in their sports, in the classroom, in the community, or in life.
As your Athletics Director, I am taking part in regular meetings with President Caslen and campus planning groups as well as Commissioner Sankey and the Southeastern Conference ADs. These groups have the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and fans are the most important pieces of the puzzle. We all want to get you the best and most accurate information as soon as we can as we move forward with challenging and difficult decisions.
I will never give up pursuing what our program needs to adequately represent the student-athletes, coaches and staff, fans, and the University with class, dignity, and victory. Be safe and healthy this summer and do your part in stopping the spread of this virus, including social distancing and wearing your Gamecock-branded face coverings.”
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 2:32 PM.
