NCAA Says Basketball and Football Can Voluntarily Train on Campus Beginning June 1
LARRY SCOTT, COMMISSIONER, PAC-12 CONFERENCE: And we could be on a nice glide path to start of the college football season at the end of August.</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Greg, I've heard you say you've eleven states in SEC with eleven different approaches toward social distancing restrictions. Larry's kind of touching on this. If some schools can't play, some schools do move toward playing, do you move forward with a conference with the season without those schools?</s>GREG SANKEY, COMMISSIONER, SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE: Well, the beauty of the question is it's mid-May and we're looking at football season in late August, early September. And I've said, you know, right now time is an asset. We want to use that wisely. Every day a little bit of that asset slips away. And our hope is we can return to this activity in a healthy way. People will heed the guidance. We have coaches doing public service announcements reminding people to wear a mask and pay attention to this guidance because college football I think is a lever in our society to help remind folks that their behavior will create the opportunities across all of our eleven states and ultimately across the country to see college football, college volleyball, college soccer all return.</s>BOLDUAN: Larry, Ohio State's athletic director said this week that he could see playing football with fans in the stadium, but it would be about 20 percent capacity but that's still is 20,000 fans at Ohio State stadium. How likely is that for you?</s>SCOTT: Well, I think what we're going to see is a patchwork state by state on the fan issue. I think collectively college football will move together to start playing hopefully the beginning of the season assuming we have support from public health officials. But I think we're going to see a wide disparity across the country. I even see it in my own conference where states will allow fans, probably initially on some type of socially distanced basis and then in a phased approach, starting allowing more and more. And some states will be a little bit more conservative and will be playing in front of an empty stadium which will be a bit surreal and challenging. But we realize this is going to be a phased restart, reopening of society. Early steps are to safely get student athletes back to campus, to start the competition, and I think it's going to be some time until we see full stadium arena again.</s>BOLDUAN: Yes. You know, Greg, just yesterday Coach Saban put out a PSA encouraging people to wear masks. I know you've seen it but let me just play just a bit of it for folks.</s>NICK SABAN, FOOTBALL COACH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA: Hi, Big Al, you need to be standing six feet away from me, and haven't I told you have to wear a mask when you're in this building?</s>BOLDUAN: Greg, besides critiquing Saban's acting ability, this gets to a bigger concept of athletes being role models. When it comes to setting a good example in the era of the coronavirus, how much does that weigh on you in these very important decisions you have to make here?</s>SANKEY: Very much so. And, in fact, people as you would expect are quick to share their perspectives and opinions on decisions. That's part of the role that both Larry and I, and our colleagues occupy. Yesterday on a video conference over our head coaches we actually reminded them, knowing that a number of these types of public service announcements are in the cue. That they play a role in helping the public understand how we, and I mean not just college football or higher education, but we as a society get back to normal. And we should use that opportunity particularly when we have this universal public health crisis and the visible opportunities. Like to use that influence in a positive way. So, whether it is what Nick's done, what Ed Orgeron's done early in this pandemic to be very much out-front saying let's take care of ourselves, let's heed the public safety advice, the health advice. I think that shows the opportunity to lead from the platform that college football provides.</s>BOLDUAN: Yes. Looking at baby steps now. A long way to go. But time is flying. We'll see. You guys have some big decisions ahead of you. I really appreciate it, gentlemen. Thank you.</s>SCOTT: Thank you.</s>SANKEY: Thank you.</s>BOLDUAN: Good luck. Coming up for us, Alabama's governor loosens restrictions ahead of the holiday weekend but the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama thinks it's too soon. The mayor joins me next.