Last year at this time, the rumors of Texas and Oklahoma’s addition to the SEC spread like wildfire throughout the room at SEC Media Days. One year later, the landscape of college football is again undergoing a seemingly seismic shift with USC and UCLA’s move to the Big Ten ushering in the era of the superconference.
While the move has sent most of the college football world and the existing conferences into a frenzy, commissioner Greg Sankey took the stage at SEC Media Days with a collected approach to questions surrounding expansion as the arms race in college football is set to begin.
“The SEC is stronger now than at any other time in our history…There’s no sense of urgency in our league, no panic and reaction to others’ decisions. We know who we are. We are confident in our collective strength,” he said.
The Red River Rivalry foes aren’t slated to join the conference until 2025 with Sankey saying it’s up to the Big 12 and the universities to work out a plan to accelerate that move. After opening up the floor to questions, the commissioner reiterated that once that occurs and in the days leading up to the arrival of the SEC’s newest members, the conference won’t add teams just to reach a certain number.
His comments regarding expansion, however, cannot be confused with indifference as he wrapped up his prepared remarks by saying, “the SEC will not be complacent, even with the knowledge that we're in a position of strength.”
With plenty of dominos left to fall in the years to come, Sankey also shared his view that the SEC was a superconference long before the days of realignment and name, image and likeness. To that end, when Texas and OU join the fold, the SEC will feature 12 of the top 20 programs in terms of revenue-generating athletic departments in the country (as of 2020) along with its continued success on the field across numerous sports.
Realignment isn’t the only topic at the forefront this week as the commissioner touched on a potential expansion of the College Football Playoff. Talks of expansion broke down back in February and Sankey expressed today that much work remains to be done on that front. Additionally, the SEC remains in discussions regarding its future scheduling model.
There will be no shortage of soundbites and quotes to trickle out of SEC Media Days between today and Thursday, so stay tuned into 92.9 The Game for all things college football!
