Former LSU president is against the SEC’s football plans for this fall.
As the fate of college football hangs in the balance after both the Big Ten and the Pac-12 decided to postpone the season to the spring, some conferences, such as the SEC, are still pushing forward with their intentions of playing.
As of now, the SEC is planning to play a 10-game, conference-only schedule, and is planning to have teams travel for away games. This sort of conference-only schedule was also adopted by the Big Ten and Pac-12 before they pulled the plug on their season, but the ACC and Big 12 are currently set on playing a schedule that still includes one non-conference opponent.
Despite these three Power 5 conferences remaining firm in their commitment to play this fall, their plans have not been immune from criticism. And one major source of criticism is former LSU President F. King Alexander.
Alexander said the SEC’s plans are not based in reality
Alexander was president of LSU from 2013 up until July 1 of this year, and he was president when the Bayou Bengals brought home a national championship this past season.
He was selected to be the new president of Oregon State University, but being affiliated with another college hasn’t stopped him from criticizing the athletic conference that his former university belonged to.
Alexander explained the decision that was made by the Pac-12 presidents to cancel fall sports, which he said was based on the reality of the situation and concern expressed by the conference’s medical advisory committee in regards to moving forward with contact practices.
He then went onto say the guidance the SEC is receiving in terms of whether it is safe to return to football is not based in reality. He also said the SEC is taking “quite a gamble” and also said, “there are serious consequences if they lose.”
While the SEC and other conferences may be dangerously ignoring the true risk of returning to such a high-contact sport, like football, during a pandemic, there are massive financial pressures as well. Just for Oregon State, the cancellation of fall sports entails a $58 million loss in an athletics budget of $80 million.
Regardless of what a former SEC president thinks, the conference still has a lot of planning to do, and it is still very possible that they will cancel the season as well.
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