SEC starts availability reports for football, basketball, baseball - ESPN

SEC schools will provide public reports on player availability for conference games in football, men's and women's basketball and baseball starting this season, the league announced Thursday.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the new policy is designed to curtail individuals who might try to seek information on injuries and suspensions from student-athletes for gambling purposes.

«This availability reporting policy is intended to reduce pressure from outside entities seeking participation information and represents a commitment of our 16 institutions to provide enhanced transparency to support efforts to protect our student-athletes and the integrity of competition,» Sankey said in a statement.

Under the new policy, SEC schools will be required to provide availability reports three days before each conference football game and then daily updates, including a final one 90 minutes prior to kickoff.

In basketball and baseball, availability reports will be filed with the SEC office the night before contests with an additional update on game day.

Under the terms of the policy, student-athletes will be deemed «available,» «probable,» «questionable,» «doubtful» or «out» in reports prior to game days. On the final report, players will be designated as «available,» «game-time decision» or «out» to provide additional clarity.

No specifics can be given as to why student-athletes would be listed on the report, be it injury or otherwise.

If schools fail to abide by the new rules, they'll face potential penalties ranging from $25,000 for a first offense to $100,000 for a third and further instances. There are maximum penalties of $15,000 to $25,000 in the other sports that are subject to the rules.

The Big Ten and MAC are the only