SEC may issue financial penalties for COVID-19 forfeits

The Southeastern Conference is still finalizing its game cancellation policy for the 2021 season, but Commissioner Greg Sankey has said teams that can’t meet the roster minimum for a game due to COVID-19 will have to forfeit. According to a new report, those teams may also face a financial penalty. Sources tell Andy Staples the SEC is considering docking revenue share from teams that have to forfeit if that forfeit costs the league television money.

This is believed to be an effort on the SEC’s part to more heavily incentivize players, coaches and team personnel to get vaccinated. If the number of SEC game broadcasts falls below the minimum allowed in the league’s contracts with ESPN and CBS, then the league would receive less money than expected. The idea behind the proposal is to ensure that the schools who were ready to play don’t have to share the cost with a school or schools that were not.

The Athletic

The SEC is the only Power 5 conference that hasn’t released its game cancellation policy for the upcoming season. Sankey told The Athletic the policy may not be approved until next week.

Kentucky still working towards the SEC’s 85% vaccination goal

SEC teams that are at least 85% vaccinated no longer have to undergo regular COVID-19 testing or wear masks inside team facilities. As of August 6, Kentucky had not reached that mark, but Mark Stoops said he was confident they would by the season’s start.

“We are in a good strong position. I feel like we’ll reach the goal. But that’s a touchy subject. I addressed it with the team. We’re very open and honest and communicate often about a lot of things, and that is an individual choice. We’ll continue to educate them, and everybody will do what’s best for them or what they feel most comfortable with. But I do feel like we’ll reach the goal that the league has set.”

Kentucky opens the season vs. Louisiana-Monroe on September 4.