Gamecocks would work to keep Clemson game if football schedule is disrupted
The college football world is on unstable footing in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner was in Birmingham on Monday to speak with the rest of the ADs of the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey. Two conferences, the Big Ten and Pac-12, have already done away with nonconference football games in the fall, and the ACC has been reported to be on that same path.
With all those questions floating around, Tanner was clear about one thing in a Tuesday evening radio interview with SportsTalk SC: The school will work to keep its annual rivalry game with Clemson, should a season be played.
“I would tell you that we would certainly try to do that,” Tanner said. “The other things are to be determined. But if we are in a position where we have the opportunity to play, we would definitely want to maintain our rivalry game.”
Tanner said he’s had some conversations with Clemson AD Dan Radakovich about a variety of topics, including rivalry games in several different sports.
Tanner echoed some of the SEC’s comments that the league will make more substantial decisions about football closer to the end of July. He also said that he’s not thinking in terms of cancellation but instead postponement if a fall season proves untenable.
“I’m not in that camp,” Tanner said. “I may be put in that camp. But I believe certainly that postponing can come into play.”
He declined to speak on the prospect of playing football in the spring.
Months ago, the hope was to have the COVID-19 pandemic under enough control that fall sports could go on relatively normally. Instead, the numbers measuring the spread of the virus have risen to the point the conference won’t hold contests until at least the start of September. The SEC hasn’t made any moves toward dropping nonconference games.
South Carolina has faced the Tigers every year since 1909 and trails in the series 71-42 with four ties. That rivalry is one of four between the SEC and ACC (Florida-Florida State, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Kentucky-Louisville).
“If we have the good fortune of playing football and our other fall sports, we would certainly do whatever we can to maintain the rivalry,” Tanner said.
Notes
▪ Tanner said the SEC’s socially distanced meeting Monday worked through a set of scenarios for the fall. He came out of the meeting with a sense that circumstances can still shift and change.
▪ On the topic of fans in the stands, he said the school won’t be able to do anything until South Carolina’s government eases some of its restrictions around large gatherings.
▪ Asked about questions of teams traveling across the conference’s 11-state footprint and risks there, Tanner said it was a subject he aimed to address a bit later in the process, closer to the end of the month.
▪ On the subject of a rash of positive tests possibly leaving a football team unable to play on a given week, Tanner spoke about needing flexibility, perhaps postponing games and finding other opportunities to play.
▪ Tanner pointed to the SEC’s medical task force for the numerical recommendations and protocols that will determine if teams can play in the fall and on a given week.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 5:12 AM with the headline "Gamecocks would work to keep Clemson game if football schedule is disrupted."
