SEC postpones volleyball, soccer and cross country due to pandemic

Less than 24 hours after SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told ESPN's Paul Finebaum he hopes to wait until late July to decide on college football seasons for member schools amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, the conference postponed the starts of multiple campaigns.

Per an official statement, the SEC postponed volleyball, soccer and cross country competitions through the end of August:

SEC institutions will continue to follow the guidance of the Conference's Return to Activity and Medical Advisory Task Force and the NCAA's Resocialization of College Sports Guidelines as student-athletes are engaged in preseason preparation for a return to competition.

Any rescheduling of non-conference contests impacted by the postponed start of the fall seasons in volleyball, soccer and cross country will be determined by each school.

The SEC continues to monitor developments related to COVID-19 as it evaluates the potential impact on fall schedules in all sports, with the understanding that the primary responsibility of the SEC and its institutions is to ensure the health and well-being of its student-athletes.

The Ivy League and Patriot League have canceled football and all other fall sports through the end of the year due to the uncontrolled virus outbreak. Meanwhile, the Big Ten and Pac-12 optimistically moved to conference-only seasons for fall terms.