Teams in the Southeastern Conference across all sports will have to forfeit games this year if they can't field enough players for any reason, the league formally announced Monday afternoon.
The team would then be assigned a loss in the conference standings, while the opposing team would automatically receive a win. If both teams cannot field enough players, they will each receive a loss.
The policy accounts for any possibility, including injuries, but a COVID-19 outbreak remains the largest threat to teams as they try to play a full schedule. The conference requires a minimum of 53 football players available.
Once again, the sound of football whistles and clattering shoulder pads has been replaced. Instead, we hear the sounds of generators and chainsaws.
Last year, the league attempted to reschedule games later in the season or pair new opponents whenever COVID-19, injuries and opt-outs pushed rosters beneath the required number of players. Multiple games were shifted, including LSU's against Alabama and Florida. Two were canceled.
But commissioner Greg Sankey said last month at SEC Media Days that vaccines allowed the conference to change its policy, hoping the prospect of forfeiting games would incentivize teams to get vaccinated. At the time, he said six SEC football teams had reached an 80% vaccination mark.
“You’re expected to play as scheduled,” Sankey said. “That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won’t be rescheduled. Thus, to dispose of the game, the forfeit word comes up at this point.”
SEC medical protocols this season give teams more flexibility when they reach an 85% vaccination threshold. At that point, teams don't have to regularly test for COVID-19, wear masks inside their facilities or quarantine after a close contact.
LSU is one of the teams well above the threshold. As of Aug. 12, coach Ed Orgeron said only one player had not received the coronavirus vaccine. The rest of LSU's coaches, equipment managers, athletic trainers and support staff have been vaccinated.
As part of the policy, the league said "any direct financial loss on the part of the school that was able to play a canceled event may be submitted for consideration for reimbursement subject to approval from the SEC Executive Committee."