SEC Media Days won’t be held in Atlanta, goes virtual

Alabama head coach Nick Saban arrives for his SEC Media Days press conference with Alabama fans lining the carpet at the College Football Hall of Fame Wednesday, July 18, 2018, in Atlanta.

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Alabama head coach Nick Saban arrives for his SEC Media Days press conference with Alabama fans lining the carpet at the College Football Hall of Fame Wednesday, July 18, 2018, in Atlanta.

The SEC’s “Football Media Days” won’t be held in Atlanta this summer, as originally planned.

Instead of an in-person event, Media Days will be conducted in a virtual format for the first time, the conference announced Wednesday.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement the change “will provide us the opportunity to manage the event in a healthy manner as we continue to be impacted by COVID-19, and will provide flexibility for our programs to adjust their preparation for the 2020 football season according to the preseason calendar that is expected to be expanded due to the cancellation of the spring football season.”

The event was scheduled to be held July 13-16 at the College Football Hall of Fame and Omni Atlanta Hotel in downtown Atlanta. Dates for the virtual Media Days haven’t  been announced.

The SEC said the virtual event will include media sessions with the league’s 14 head coaches and select players from each team, as well as Sankey’s annual state-of-the-SEC address. The SEC Network plans “wall-to-wall coverage,” the league said.

“We look forward to returning to our traditional Media Days format in 2021,” Sankey said.