Decision made: SEC drops non-conference games, Gamecocks won’t face Clemson in 2020
It took a while, but the SEC has joined the pack, and its decision will snap a rivalry streak between South Carolina and Clemson of more than 100 years.
The Southeastern Conference announced Thursday it will drop non-conference football games and alter its schedule for the upcoming season during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision came one day after the ACC switched to a 10-plus-1 format, which left the door open for the South Carolina-Clemson game to happen.
But Thursday’s SEC news means a break in the Palmetto State rivalry that has been played since the early 1900s.
“It’s unfortunate that we will not be playing Clemson this season but that wasn’t our choice, it was a league decision,” South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said through a statement from the school. “That’s a game that is important to our program, our institution and our state, and one that President [Bob] Caslen and Coach [Ray] Tanner pushed hard to make happen. I look forward to renewing the rivalry in 2021.”
The season will start Sept. 26 and the SEC title game will be Dec. 19. The new opponents and schedule are not yet set and will come “at a later date following approval by the Conference’s athletics directors,” the league said.
A new South Carolina football schedule is expected to include the previously announced eight SEC opponents: Home games vs. Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Georgia; and road games at Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and LSU. According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, “a separate scheduling model — composed by the league office using strength of schedule — will determine the two additional opponents for 2020.”
Thursday’s decision means three of the most winnable games come off South Carolina’s slate, as it won’t include Coastal Carolina, ECU or Wofford.
“This new plan for a football schedule is consistent with the educational goals of our universities to allow for the safe and orderly return to campus of their student populations and to provide a healthy learning environment during these unique circumstances presented by the COVID-19 virus,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “This new schedule supports the safety measures that are being taken by each of our institutions to ensure the health of our campus communities.”
South Carolina AD Ray Tanner said multiple times the school had made a point of trying to keep the Clemson game intact. The Gamecocks and Tigers faced off every season since 1909, with 117 meetings, dating back to the late 1800s.
“We believe these schedule adjustments offer the best opportunity to complete a full season by giving us the ability to adapt to the fluid nature of the virus and the flexibility to adjust schedules as necessary if disruptions occur,” Sankey said. “It is regrettable that some of our traditional non-conference rivalries cannot take place in 2020 under this plan, but these are unique, and hopefully temporary, circumstances that call for unconventional measures.”
Not including Clemson, South Carolina’s three other non-conference games’ contracts were slated to cost the school $2.75 million.
The Gamecocks started walk-throughs with coaches on July 24. The start of training camp was set for Aug. 6, but that date could be adjusted given the later start date to the season.
Other notes from the SEC’s official announcement Thursday:
▪ “Each athletics program has been engaged in evaluating best practices for game operations to prepare a safe environment for student-athletes, coaches, staff, officials and other individuals necessary to conduct games.”
▪ “Further decisions regarding safety standards related to athletics events, tailgating and other game day activities, including social distancing, face covering and other health measures consistent with CDC, state and local guidelines, will be announced at a later date.”
▪ The league said it will watch and learn from “successes and challenges presented by return to competition in other sports.”
▪ The later start date, according the SEC, gives the league time “to continue to monitor health trends across its 11-state footprint, as well as monitor developments in technology around mitigation and treatment of the virus.”
▪ Start dates and schedules for men’s and women’s cross country, soccer and volleyball will be announced later. Those sports are postponed through at least Aug. 31.
▪ The league reiterated that “student-athletes in all sports who elect to not participate in intercollegiate athletics during the fall 2020 academic semester because of health and/or safety concerns related to COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarships honored by their university and will remain in good standing with their team.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Decision made: SEC drops non-conference games, Gamecocks won’t face Clemson in 2020."
