SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey credits South Carolina professor for advice.
O on ‘60 Minutes’
If the SEC is able to complete a football season in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, Stella Self should be voted the conference’s MVP.
Most Valuable Professor. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey in recent months often has cited the advice of Self — an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at South Carolina — for helping him remain patient in making decisions about the season.
Sankey’s approach is why the SEC is scheduled to open its season Saturday while the Big Ten and Pac-12 — which on Aug. 11 announced they wouldn’t play football this fall — are scrambling to try to begin playing in late October.
Self hasn’t sought the limelight, but her name has been mentioned by some media outlets.
“I credit a faculty member, who never wanted to be known,” Sankey said Wednesday when he spoke with reporters on a teleconference. “A biostatistician who encouraged me, provided me with a mantra, ‘This is all new. So if you wait and take as much time as possible to make major decisions, we’ll learn more every day. And therefore if you take that time, you’ll have better information on which to base your decision.’
“I credit her guidance to me in mid-April.”
All 14 SEC teams are scheduled to play Saturday, though there are more tests for covid-19 to be administrated to assure the safety of players, coaches and staff members.
“Despite what happens on Saturday, the opportunity to play seven games at the end of that day, there will be a bit of an emotional moment, I think,” Sankey said. “Just to be through 10% of that conference schedule. I think that will be an accomplishment.
“Then we’ve got to reset, just like our coaches do, put the film away and focus on doing it again the next week.”
The key, of course, is getting in the games to start the season.
“I don’t know that I would call this a normal feel to Week One, but it feels like Week One as we’re working through a lot of issues around our new environment,” Sankey said. “There were probably some days back in March, and all the way through today, that you’ve been on a roller coaster. I think our coaches have been on a roller coaster. I give all of them a lot of appreciation for their patience and for the flexibility.
“You know what would be a beautiful day? It would be to have seven football games played successfully on a bunch of Saturdays. So I’m looking forward to seeing if we can make that happen.”
Sankey, asked how he would define a successful season, replied being able to crown a conference champion at the SEC title game on Dec. 19 in Atlanta. But there is room for smaller gains to be made.
“Saturday can be a success,” Sankey said. “The Saturday after can be a success. I mean, we’re really redefining success at this point.”
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