As of right now, SEC spring football practice is completely up in the air. All SEC related spring sporting events are canceled (SEC canceled all practice activities through April 15), and coaches or athletic directors are unsure of what the next step is due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey hasn’t completely ruled out spring practice, and Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork thinks regardless if spring practice is completely canceled, there needs to be some sort of NFL mini-camp-like practices prior to fall camp.

“Assuming we’re able to get back together physically, I believe there needs to be some acclimation period, if you will, in May or June or July,” Bjork said in a teleconference Wednesday. “It doesn’t need to be a full-on spring practice. To me, it’s more of an NFL(-like) mini-camp, where there’s very little contact, if any. Maybe it’s just helmets and shorts. I believe there needs to be some sort of prep period during that time.

“The question is what happens on April 16,” Bjork asked. “We don’t have that answer. We really have to get organized around what that looks like next week so that we can start to plan for any sort of return to athletic activities, meaning in a virtual sense. … But really, you’re at a standstill until we know more about how this virus impacts us longer-term.”

Although fall sports will hopefully return (pending the slowing of the coronavirus), it’s a big unknown and decision-makers need to also be preparing for the worst, too.

“We’ve obviously thought about the worst-case scenarios and how impactful and devastating it would be, not only emotionally, but financially for many athletic departments across the country that have football,” Bjork said. “Everything rises and falls on football, and I think that still applies. It would have major impacts across our communities, our athletic programs, our university.”