Photo by Jon Anderson.
Spectators watch the SEC Baseball Tournament championship game between LSU and Arkansas at the Hoover Met in 2017. While the 2020 tournament has been canceled because of the new coronavirus, officials said they aim to make the 2021 tournament bigger and better than ever.
Officials for the Southeastern Conference and city of Hoover say that while they are disappointed there won’t be an SEC Baseball Tournament this year due to the new coronavirus, they will work to make the 2021 tournament bigger and better than ever.
Also, the 2020 Regions Tradition golf tournament that had been scheduled for May 6-10 at the Greystone Golf and Country Club will still be held this year — just in the fall. That tournament was rescheduled for Sept. 23-27, still at Greystone.
The SEC Baseball Tournament was just one part of a larger loss for SEC athletics. The conference decided to cancel all regular season conference and non-conference competitions for the remainder of the 2019-20 athletic year, including all remaining SEC championship events. Spring football games and pro days also were canceled for SEC institutions.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said it was a difficult decision and he was especially disappointed for the student-athletes. However, “the health and well-being of our entire conference community is an ongoing priority for the SEC as we continue to monitor developments and information about the COVID-19 virus,” Sankey said.
The commissioner said the SEC Baseball Tournament has become the premier conference baseball tournament in the country in large part due to the great support of the city of Hoover and residents across the Birmingham area.
“We are disappointed we will not be able to conduct the tournament in 2020, but we look forward to coming back in a bigger and better way in 2021,” he said.
Last year's tournament had a record estimated crowd of about 162,700 people, according to the SEC.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said: “We know it will return to the Hoover Met next year, and we are committed to work to make it the best one ever ... Our country is facing difficult times, and therefore we are all facing difficult decisions, and this is one the [SEC] commissioner had to make.”
Brocato said he was optimistic the country’s leaders are doing everything they can to address this pandemic.
“I appreciate the aggressiveness of our president, our governor and our local health officials,” he said. They had to make some incredibly difficult decisions to try to get in front of the situation, “and that’s the only way we’re going to return to normalcy,” the mayor said.
Other SEC athletics activities, including team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings, whether required or voluntary, were suspended through at least May 31.
“SEC member institutions will continue to provide their student-athletes with care and support to meet needs in areas including academics, medical care, mental health and wellness, nutrition and housing as needed,” the conference said.
The SEC issued full refunds for tickets already purchased for the SEC Baseball Tournament and SEC Softball Tournament from the SEC office or a university in the conference.
As for the PGA, all PGA Tour tournaments scheduled through May 10 were either postponed or canceled. The Regions Tradition now will be the final major championship on the 2020 PGA Tour Champions schedule.
Regions Bank President and CEO John Turner said the bank is focused on the safety and health of its customers and associates.
“While our community rallies together, we also understand that events like the Regions Tradition are important in their economic impact to local businesses and in direct benefits to nonprofits,” Turner said in a press release. “We are pleased to have been able to work with our partners and reschedule the Regions Tradition to later in the year to help ensure its impact can continue.”
Brocato said that tournament, which has provided more than $19 million for charities in its 28 years, has turned into one of the best senior tournaments in the country, and he is glad the tournament will be coming back in the fall.
“There’s good weather in the fall. That’s going to help make it a very successful event again,” Brocato said. “People are hungry for athletics and sporting events. I think we’ll see record crowds.”
