SEC commish reflects on continuing college football games during pandemic

Greg Sankey isn't ready to share his feelings about continuing college football during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is set to celebrate his 10th anniversary as the Southeastern Conference commissioner after taking over from Michael Slive on June 1, 2015.

However, Wednesday marks the fifth anniversary of several sports leagues having to either cancel or postpone their seasons.

Sankey spoke with the Post and Courier about how he feels about his 10th year as commissioner and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The SEC commissioner responded that he wants to reflect on both anniversaries when he retires.

The Post and Courier's Scott Hamilton transcribed the following quotes.

"Just a point of reflection. There's a lot that happened. I think whenever there's emotions around this job, it'll be the day I retire or step away. So it'll be a good memory and I'll think a little bit about, I have already, about kind of what I thought going in and how things have changed.

"How, when you look ahead 10 years, how things will change even more. So that's really where my thinking's been," Sankey said.

The SEC commissioner helped lead college football through the COVID-19 pandemic to have their 2020 season. On Sep. 3, 2020, the season started with the UAB Blazers defeating the Central Arkansas Bears 45-35 with 12,716 fans at Legion Field.

The season concluded with the Alabama Crimson Tide beating the Ohio State Buckeyes 52-24 for the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 11, 2021.

"I think we would have regretted not playing": Greg Sankey on deciding to play in the 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic

The SEC commissioner has no regrets about having the college football resume activity for the 2020 season. He acknowledged in the interview that it was a tough decision, but felt the league needed to try their best to make it happen.

"I think we would have regretted not playing. I truly do. I think if the one thing I could say, we just shut down and not done anything, I think we would have looked back and said, 'Wow, we could have tried harder.' And that was really the way I viewed things. We had a responsibility to exhaust every avenue," Sankey said.

Several games were canceled during the 2020 season due to public health concerns. Sankey believes the teams that were able to participate during the COVID-19 restrictions should be proud of their efforts.