ATHENS — The SEC league office announced on Wednesday that this year’s SEC Media Days event will be conducted in a virtual format.

The event, which has been televised on-site by the SEC Network, was previously scheduled to take place in Atlanta at the College Football Hall of Fame July 13-16.

The new dates and times have yet to be announced.

“Conducting football media days in a virtual format will provide us the opportunity to manage the event in a healthy manner as we continue to be impacted by COVID-19, and will provide flexibility for our programs to adjust their preparation for the 2020 football season according to the preseason calendar that is expected to be expanded due to the cancellation of the spring football season,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a release.

 “We look forward to returning to our traditional media days format in 2021.”

The SEC Media Days are scheduled be held in Nashville in 2021.

A recently released 4-phase plan to prepare the football players for the season includes workout dates that overlap with the previously scheduled media days event.

SEC teams began voluntary workouts on June 8.

RELATED: NCAA 4-phase preseason plan expected to be adopted this week

SEC Media Days is considered the unofficial start of football season by many, with several fans annually traveling to the host city to catch a glimpse of head coaches and players as they come through the lobby.

Sankey will present his annual “State of the SEC” address at the start of this year’s event. All 14 of the league’s coaches, along with player representatives, will take part.

The SEC is planning the event with the SEC Network, looking to provide “wall-to-wall” coverage.

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