Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss 100% Vaccinated; Don't Want to Be in Position to Forfeit Games

Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday that 100 percent of the players, coaches and staff members in the program have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

"Nobody wants to be in a position to forfeit games," Kiffin said, per Chris Low of ESPN.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey encouraged everyone to get vaccinated when speaking at media days in July, noting that games could be forfeited if teams didn't have full rosters.

"You're expected to play as scheduled," Sankey said. "That means your team needs to be healthy to compete, and if not, that game won't be rescheduled. And thus, to dispose of the game, the 'forfeit' word comes up at this point."

Teams with more than 85 percent of players vaccinated will also see less rigorous testing for COVID-19.

The vaccination success for Ole Miss comes amid limited buy-in from the rest of the public in the area. According to the Mayo Clinic, only 41.6 percent of people in Mississippi have received one dose, the lowest rate in the United States.

"It's pretty amazing and great motivation for our fans and the state," Kiffin said.