SEC football updates: Here’s the latest news about fall sports on Aug. 15

Last weekend saw the emergence of reports that the Big Ten was preparing to postpone fall sports with hopes of playing in the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic — now, as we enter Saturday and a new weekend, both the Big Ten and Pac-12 are officially out on the fall college football season.

But the SEC, along with other leagues, is still going. In fact, an extended preseason camp is set to start this Monday. Here is the latest news on how the conference and college football are approaching the restart.

Potential ‘game changer’ test approved

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency use authorization for a cheap, fast saliva test for COVID-19 developed by researchers at Yale and funded with help from the NBA, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Such a test could be a “game changer” for college football, an anonymous team doctor reportedly told Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger. With reduced costs, quicker turnarounds and expanded testing, outbreaks would theoretically be easier to monitor and control.

The Athletic’s Chris Vannini also tweeted about the saliva test’s approval, saying American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco had previously told him he hoped such a test would be approved and that it could “save the football season.”

Bob Caslen, Ray Tanner talk tailgating, attendance, myocarditis

During and after a board of trustees meeting for the University of South Carolina on Friday, university president Bob Caslen and athletic director Ray Tanner both talked about the challenges facing this season.

Caslen explained to the board why the SEC is not as worried about the heart condition myocarditis, which has been associated with COVID-19, as conferences like the Big Ten.

“The report that everybody is concerned about, what they had reported, the sample size they used was 50-year-old men,” Caslen said, referring to what he heard from the SEC task force. “Rather than 21-year-old athletes. Nonetheless, it wasn’t the same particular sample group.

“They also said that myocarditis is something that can be identified with an EKG or with an echo test and with a discussion on symptoms. So it’s not that you wonder whether or not you have that. It’s something that can be detected.”

And Tanner said the Gamecock athletic department has started the process of submitting for a waiver to host fans at Williams-Brice Stadium — specifically, Tanner has said USC calculated Williams-Brice could be at 24.6% capacity and support social distancing measures. With a total capacity of 80,250, that would put the number of people in the stands at 19,741 or so.

When it comes to tailgating, South Carolina has jurisdiction over Gamecock Park and the State Fairgrounds, Tanner said, and they have been discussing how to handle that this year with several ideas in play, but none that he was willing to elaborate on.

SEC coaches reportedly heated over schedule

According to ESPN’s Chris Low and Alex Scarborough, things got testy on a conference call with SEC head coaches on Thursday. The issue? The two games added to every team’s schedule last Friday.

Low and Scarborough, citing sources on the call, said Friday that coaches were frustrated that the conference did not explain how it chose the two new opponents for each program, with multiple coaches saying the process appeared “corrupt.”

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported the contentious nature of the conversation as well, saying coaches were not given any “formula” by which the opponents were chosen.

The two additional games were needed after the SEC voted to move to a 10-game, conference-only schedule this fall, hoping that uniform testing protocols and reduced travel will combat COVID-19.

NCAA says no fall championships

NCAA president Mark Emmert announced Thursday that there will be no fall championship tournaments, as a majority of conferences and programs have now postponed their fall seasons.

“The board of governors also established if you don’t have half of the schools playing a sport, you can’t have a legitimate championship,” Emmert said in a video posted to the NCAA’s Twitter. “We can’t in any Division I NCAA championship sport now — which is everything other than FBS football that goes on in the fall. Sadly, tragically, that’s going to be the case this fall, full stop.”

As Emmert said, FBS football doesn’t organize a national championship through the NCAA, so the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and other conferences can still work toward a fall season. However, women’s volleyball, women’s and men’s soccer, cross country, field hockey and men’s water polo all won’t have national championships to play for. Emmert said sports could try to reschedule for the winter or spring.

Shortly after Emmert’s video, the SEC released a statement from commissioner Greg Sankey saying the conference was reviewing the impact of the NCAA’s move. League teams could theoretically play a regular season this fall and compete for a conference title with no NCAA postseason.

The NCAA Division I Council previously recommended that any student-athletes who can’t participate this season because of the pandemic receive an additional season of competition and an extension of their five-year eligibility window.

Alabama AD talks

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, one of the most important voices in the SEC, spoke with reporters on Thursday on a broad range of topics. Among them, Byrne said there has been discussion on the conference level about how many positive tests one team would have to report before games have to be canceled or postponed.

“There have been discussions about that,” Byrne said, according to AL.com. “There is not a firm policy in place. I think that’s something that, from a myocarditis standpoint, no. From everything else, I cannot — I’m not trying to be misleading at all — I just can’t give you a good answer on that one right now but those are discussions we’ve had.”

South Carolina coach Will Muschamp has previously said he suggested a threshold of 30 players being unavailable, either due to positive tests or quarantines due to exposure.

The issue of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart that has been linked to COVID-19, has become a major factor in conferences’ decisions to play this fall or postpone to the spring. Byrne said Alabama has had no reported cases of myocarditis to date.

Greg Sankey preaches patience

In response to the Big Ten and Pac-12’s postponements, the SEC and ACC released statements from their commissioners on Tuesday that conveyed similar messages: We’re not giving up just yet.

“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”