The SEC announced that football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball programs in the conference are now required to provide injury updates in the week leading up to a game, which was reported by multiple media outlets last week.

On Wednesday, the SEC sent out an official press release that outlined the details of the new policy. The release specified several details of the new procedure so there will be no room for a team to question if they are following the new rule correctly.

For football specifically, the first section highlighted timing.  The deadline for an institution to release an initial Availability Report is Wednesday by 7:00 pm Central time / 8:00 pm Eastern time for a Saturday game (or, for any
non-Saturday game, three nights before the game by 7:00 pm Central time / 8:00 pm Eastern time).

The second section outlined the various designations for a given player depending on the circumstance.

If an institution has knowledge that a student-athlete may not be able to participate in the upcoming game
for any reason (including, but not limited to, injury, illness, suspension, ineligibility, or personal matter), the
institution must accurately designate the student-athlete’s participation status on the Initial Report as follows:

• Out (i.e., will not play/0% chance to play);
• Doubtful (i.e., unlikely to play/25% chance to play);
• Questionable (i.e., uncertain to play/50% chance to play); or
• Probable (i.e., probable to play/75% chance to play).

The release highlighted several other areas including Exempt Student-Athletes, Duty To Update, Duty To Act in Good Faith, Duty to Avoid a Surprise, Duty to Avoid Inconsistent Public Comments, Non-Conference Games, Submission Of Availability Report, Enforcement Process and Penalties among other guidelines.

In football, if a financial penalty is appropriate, the following penalty schedule applies to the offending
institution:

• First Offense: $25,000 penalty
• Second Offense: $50,000 penalty
• Third Offense and Any Successive Offense: $100,000 penalty

In addition, the head coach of the offending institution is subject to accountability measures, including a
financial penalty, as appropriate given the circumstances. A coach who is a repeat violator of this policy is subject
to progressively higher penalties.

The full policy outlined in the press release can be found here.