SEC Reportedly Planning To Implement Injury Reports For 2024 Football Season, Following NFL And Big Ten's Lead

The SEC is reportedly planning on joining the Big Ten with mandatory injury reports, which was discussed this past spring during meetings in Destin, Florida. 

According to a report from CBS Sports, and confirmed by OutKick, there are details being discussed to implement this for the upcoming 2024 season, with athletic directors from the SEC scheduled to meet next week about a number of different items. 

Last season, the Big Ten had its own injury report for games, which would classify players as questionable or out for the game. In the case of the Big Ten, each school was to submit a report within two hours of kickoff, which could also be traced back to gambling activity that has been a hot-button topic around college athletics over the past few years. 

When the Big Ten announced its decision, commissioner Tony Petitti said ‘enhanced transparency’ would help protect those playing, along with the integrity of the game. 

"The well-being of our students, coaches, and staff, as well as the integrity of our competitions are of paramount importance," Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said before the 2023 season. "Enhanced transparency through availability reporting and partnering with U.S. Integrity strengthens our efforts to protect those who participate in our games as well as the integrity of the games themselves. I'm grateful for the collaboration of our schools, coaches, and administrators."  

Now, with the SEC getting into the injury report business on a full-time basis, this could lead to other conferences joining in on the process. There is a difference in the NFL, which will fine teams for not being truthful about the current status of a player. If the SEC ultimately goes down this road, I could easily see them following in the footsteps of the professional model. 

What SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Said About This At The Spring Meeting

During his meeting with reporters this past May at SEC Spring meetings, commissioner Greg Sankey noted that the conference would continue having discussions on how to implement these new protocols, if they were adopted. 

"We are going to have a discussion about student-athlete availability reporting," Greg Sankey said. "Members of our staff have been working on this project, really since last summer. I referenced some considerations that we would have. That doesn’t mean there’s going to be a decision. In fact, you should not expect a decision. But you should expect a discussion."

DALLAS - SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during SEC Football Media Days on July 15, 2024. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

LSU head coach Brian Kelly dabbled with injury reports last season, as the head coach would put out two different reports, one on Monday, and the other on Thursday. These injury updates were characterized by probable, questionable, doubtful, or out. 

It will be fascinating to see how the SEC moves forward with this new process, and how much information these head coaches are willing to give out before a crucial game. It's not as if Billy Napier or Kirby Smart want to let their opponents know whether their starting quarterback is good enough to go a day before kickoff. So, implementing the same strategy as the Big Ten, and its two-hour deadline before kickoff would seem like the logical move in this case. 

For the time being, we will wait until athletic directors discuss this further and vote on the matter, but it sounds like opposing teams, along with gamblers, will be able to make last-minute decisions on games this upcoming season.