Auburn football has joined the growing number of FBS programs that have seen their springs impacted by the coronavirus outbreak that has brought sports at all levels in the country to screeching halt.
The SEC announced earlier Thursday that, through March 30, it was suspending all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for all of its member institutions in every sport. That, of course, includes football.
Monday, March 16, Auburn football had been set to kick off the first of its 15 spring practice sessions. The keyword there is had as, Thursday night, the university announced “Auburn football will postpone the start of spring football practice and all football-related activities.” The release added that “[t]he program will continue to assess the situation moving forward.”
“The well-being of our student-athletes, staff, fans and the Auburn community will always be our highest priority,” AU athletic director Allen Greene said in a statement. “Given the global gravity of COVID-19, we appreciate the complexities of these difficult decisions. Our hearts go out to our student-athletes and coaches who have worked tirelessly to represent Auburn with class and excellence in their quest for championships. We thank the Auburn family for their understanding and patience as we navigate this unprecedented and fluid situation.”
As we noted in the post directly below this one, the Auburn football news is the latest in a whirlwind of coronavirus-related concerns that have impacted the sport this past week. In chronological order, from most recent back:
- Texas postponed the start of spring football practice until after March 29.
- The MAC suspended all spring athletic activities, including spring football practice.
- The Mountain West shut down all spring sports, effective immediately, but will allow, for the moment, individual schools to make their own decisions on spring football practice.
- The Big Ten suspended all spring activities, including football recruiting.
- Penn State canceled its spring football game.
- ACC suspended all athletics activities, including spring football practice.
- The SEC suspended on- and off-campus recruiting.
- USC postponed spring football practice.
- Notre Dame stops all recruiting, postpones spring football practice.
- Baylor suspended the start of spring practice, recruiting activities.
- Ohio State canceled its spring football game.
- Michigan canceled its spring football game.
- Cincinnati (HERE), Kent State (HERE), Nevada (HERE) and TCU (HERE) all canceled their spring football games as well.