SEC Reportedly Approves December 19 as Makeup Date for Postponed Football Games

The SEC reportedly unanimously approved a motion for Dec. 19 to serve as a makeup date for football games postponed because of COVID-19. 

According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, all 14 SEC athletic directors agreed to the date during a meeting Thursday. The SEC Championship Game is also scheduled to take place on that date.

Alabama vs. LSU, Auburn vs. Mississippi State, Texas A&M vs. Tennessee and Georgia vs. Missouri were all scheduled to be played this week, but have been postponed because of COVID-19 outbreaks within some of those teams.

After the four postponements were announced this week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he was "shaken, but not deterred," per ESPN's Alex Scarborough.

Sankey noted that contact tracing has been difficult to navigate since it can lead to multiple players having to sit even if only one tests positive for COVID-19. He also preached the importance of being "flexible" in order to navigate the remainder of the season.

The Dec. 19 makeup date should work for most teams provided none of them have to deal with more than one postponement.

There could be exceptions, though, if one or both of the teams ticketed for the SEC Championship Game need to make a game up.

The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide are 6-0 and very likely to represent the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game, but their game against LSU was postponed this week.

The No. 6 Florida Gators lead the SEC East at 4-1, but they also have a game that needs to be made up, as their scheduled game against LSU three weeks ago was postponed.

While the SEC still has plenty left to figure out, it is able to be a bit more flexible than other conferences such as the Big Ten and Pac-12, as those conferences got off to a later start and have fewer games on their schedule.

The SEC now has at least one built-in date for makeups, however, either another date will be needed or some games may have to be canceled in order to accommodate every impacted team.