It doesn’t make a hill of beans difference as to whether or not we see football this fall, but one of the landmark checkpoints of the offseason has officially been canceled.
The SEC on Tuesday canceled its spring meetings in Destin, Fla. The meetings annually took place in the last week in May, and had been held in Destin each year since 1985.
“The SEC Spring Meetings represent one of our Conference’s great traditions and provide an opportunity to celebrate the past year, plan for the future and focus on our mission to serve people through our universities,” said commissioner Greg Sankey. “We regret this year’s event will not be held as planned, but we know cancellation is appropriate in the light of supporting safety and well-being during this unprecedented public health crisis.”
The league meetings gathered all the luminaries in the conference, from presidents, to head coaches of men’s and women’s sports, to SIDs. The meetings also drew hordes of media -- Paul Finebaum‘s show aired from the Gulf of Mexico beach -- and some fans.
“We are currently exploring ways to conduct as many of the planned meetings in an alternate format and time,” Sankey added. “We will be intentional to celebrate all of the remarkable individuals who would otherwise have been honored at our annual SEC Awards Dinner.”
The next item on the SEC agenda is the annual kickoff event for the entire college sports schedule -- SEC Media Days, taking place in the week after the Fourth of July. Those remain on the docket. For now.