While the SEC has not decided on fall sports yet, a decision might need to be made sooner rather than later.
In Auburn’s case, they now have to scramble to find a replacement opponent for Week 1 of the football season after the Southwestern Athletic Conference announced on Monday that they are postponing fall sports to the spring.
The conference announced its decision to postpone fall sports with a plan to play in the spring in a release after the SWAC’s Council of Presidents met on Monday.
Auburn was scheduled to play Alcorn State at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 5.
According to the website FBSchedule, Auburn was set to pay the Braves a $475,000 guarantee to play them in the season-opener. If the Tigers and Alcorn wanted to reschedule the game, Auburn’s non-conference schedule is full until 2023.
Auburn’s remaining non-conference schedule includes North Carolina on Sept. 12, Southern Miss on Sept. 26 and UMass on Nov. 14.
Last Monday, the SEC athletic directors met to discuss possible scheduling options for the fall. Following the meeting, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey felt it was a beneficial meeting for the upcoming weeks.
“We had a productive meeting on Monday and engaged in discussions on a number of important issues that will contribute to critical decisions to be made in the weeks ahead,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “The ability to personally interact over the course of an entire day contributed to the productivity of the meeting.”
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Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
