Ray Tanner expects social distancing at games in fall, USC still modeling scenarios
The fate of fall sports at the University of South Carolina is still unknown, as games won’t start for months and athletic director Ray Tanner remains in consistent contact with the Southeastern Conference.
But if there are games, some kind of distancing should be expected, Tanner said in a school town hall on Wednesday. The school had announced on-campus education will resume in the fall.
“Right now we’re approximately four months away from kickoff so we still have a little bit of time to answer some questions,” Tanner said. “It is likely that social distancing will be in place at Williams-Brice and our other venues. We are running models currently to determine what kind of attendance we could have, but we’re, we’re still excited about the opportunity to have live sports again. But you know there is some time and we went through those questions and try to resolve some issues as we move forward.”
Experts have said social distancing could mean in-stadium crowds will be held down to between 15-35% of the usual capacity. Williams-Brice holds more than 80,000 fans.
South Carolina’s season starts on Sept. 5 against Coastal Carolina, and numerous different models have been floated, including pushing back the start of the season or not playing non-conference games.
“We’re still in conversation discussions with both the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA,” school president Robert Caslen said, noting football has emerged as a top concern he’s hearing. “We think the schedule will be determined at that level, not necessarily ours.”
USC will also be playing two soccer seasons and volleyball among its fall sports.
“Being on the phone earlier today with the Southeastern Conference, we’ve remained in lockstep as far as our fall schedule is concerned,” Tanner said. “Not only with football but the other fall sports as well. So the health, safety and well-being of our students and our student-athletes and our fans and our coaches and everybody involved is of paramount importance.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Ray Tanner expects social distancing at games in fall, USC still modeling scenarios."
