There’s nothing that can be done to eliminate the TV timeout, but the SEC has found a way to make it more palatable. Beginning this week, each SEC school will install a countdown clock that will allow fans in the stadium to know exactly how long they’re forced to watch the players they paid to see stand there and do nothing.
“The use of a visible timeout countdown clock will provide fans in particular an opportunity to know when a game will re-start after a television timeout and hopefully give some definition to the perceived delays in a game,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “The clock will also give teams, game officials and event administrators more definitive information for time management in their respective areas of the game.”
Clocks will be installed at all 14 league stadiums, in addition to neutral site stadiums that will host SEC conference games — TIAA Bank Field for Florida vs. Georgia, AT&T Stadium for Arkansas vs. Texas A&M and War Memorial Stadium for Ole Miss vs. Arkansas. The clocks will not be installed for non-conference neutral site games like Auburn vs. Washington, LSU vs. Miami or Alabama vs. Louisville.