SEC Announces Scheduling Format for Remaining Fall Sports

Football is a little over a month away from kicking off in the SEC. And while all eyes have been dialed in on this sport for the last several weeks across the conference, questions have still loomed regarding the fate of the SEC’s other fall sports, as well.

On Thursday, there were finally answers to those many questions, as the conference announced its plans for the upcoming soccer, cross country, volleyball, golf and tennis seasons.

NEWS | The @SEC has established new start dates and formats for the SEC cross country, soccer and volleyball seasons as well as the fall golf and tennis seasons.https://t.co/PP5sdvjUtN

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 27, 2020

How it will Look

Similar to how the football season will play out, volleyball and soccer will also follow the conference-only schedule format, as well. In addition, men’s and women’s golf teams, along with men’s and women’s tennis teams, will be limited to only participating in matches involving SEC squads or opponents from the geographic region of that SEC school.

As for men’s and women’s cross country, there will be a minimum of two, possibly three, meets that will take place prior to the SEC Championship on October 30 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The season is set to run from September 11 through October 23.

Furthermore, there is also the possibility that SEC cross country teams could face squads out of conference if those schools adhere to the SEC’s coronavirus testing protocols.

Below are some added key dates for the volleyball, soccer and tennis seasons.

Volleyball:

• Season starts on October 16.
• Eight matches, all in SEC.
• There will be six weeks of competition, and each school will play four opponents twice in one weekend on back-to-back days.

Updated Start Date ➡️ Oct. 16

8️⃣ SEC Matches | 4️⃣ Doubleheaders

Details ➡️ https://t.co/oEs4XXA59u#GoGators pic.twitter.com/z1xOJ2G0sM

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) August 27, 2020

Soccer:

• Season begins on September 18.
• Also will play eight matches, all SEC.
• SEC Championship will be November 13-22 in its original spot of Orange Beach, Alabama.
• Every school will play in conference championship with each one promised a minimum of two matches.

Sept. 18 can’t come soon enough! ⚽️ #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/kvFoeOidlz

— Auburn Soccer (@AuburnSoccer) August 27, 2020

Tennis:

• For the fall portion of the schedule, team’s will only be able to compete in events involving up to three schools beginning October 1 at the latest.

https://twitter.com/UKMensTennis/status/1299054834797043712

It was also announced on Thursday by the SEC that volleyball and soccer will participate in spring play, as well. In terms of what this could possibly look like will depend on the NCAA and its choice on whether to play out spring championships in these sports.

Certainly, there will be some changes to how all these sports will be conducted this fall. There are schedules in place along with protocols to keep coaches and athletes safe. But much uncertainty still remains in terms of how it will all play out. We’ll see what happens when all the action gets under way.