ATLANTA — Relaxing June 30 at his Skaneateles Lake getaway in native New York, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey would enjoy a short-lived vacation.
News of USC and UCLA’s jump to the Big Ten in 2024 delivered another shock wave to college football’s landscape.
Sankey was forced to recalibrate, dig into the details and weigh options before meeting six days later with presidents and chancellors and athletic directors.
“So much for our summer vacation,” Sankey lamented Monday at SEC Media Days in Atlanta.
Yet, Sankey does not plan to let the latest realignment bombshell force further SEC expansion beyond 16 teams.
The league’s top football conference will not seek a counter move but also will be at the ready.
“There’s no sense of urgency in our league, no panic and reaction to others’ decisions,” Sankey said during his first public comments since the latest realignment. “We know who we are. We’re confident in our success.
“But we’ll watch what happens around us and be thoughtful, but be nimble.”
The first seismic shift occurred a year ago at SEC Media Days outside Birmingham, where news broke Texas and Oklahoma would leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025.
The move emboldened the nation’s top college football conference and forced other leagues to react.
The Big 12 restocked with UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU. Yet, the Big Ten’s pilfering of USC — the Pac-12′s show pony — and crosstown rival UCLA elevated the second-best football league and furnished it one of the nation’s top media markets.
Even so, Sankey prefers the SEC’s position and additions relative to those of the Big Ten.
Asked if Texas/Oklahoma “trumps” USC/UCLA, he replied, “Yes.”
Sankey then quickly added, with a smile, ”I’m not sure we want to use the word ‘trumped’ all the time these days. Got to be careful about that.”
Speaking at the College Football Hall of Fame, Sankey displayed a sense of humor and nostalgia along with the confidence bred by occupying in college football’s cat’s bird seat.
“This is a super league,” he said.
Sankey opened his State of the SEC address quoting Jeff Spicoli of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, “You’re here and I’m here, so it’s really our time.”
Later, Sankey referenced Bob Dylan’s hit, “The Times They Are a-Changin,” a nod to the turbulent times in college football.
The stoic SEC commish even fired a veiled shot at the Big Ten, soon to be a 16-team league with universities located on both coasts.
“This expansion keeps the SEC in contiguous states which supports reasonable geography among like-minded universities and keeps us confident that fan interest will continue to grow in our communities, in our region, in this country and literally across the globe,” he said.
As the SEC hits pause, the league’s next move will generate speculation and consternation until conference realignment settles down.
Echoing his commissioner, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, the head coach at USC from 2010-13, said whatever happens he’s happy where he is.
“I don’t know that there’s a huge jump into the Big Ten,” he said. “Going to the SEC is a whole ‘nother animal. The draft picks, national championships prove that coming out of the SEC. It’s a different world.
“Said it for a long time: the SEC just means more. And it does. It’s different, it’s ahead of the game.”
