Here we are at Nick Saban Elementary School where the teacher, Mr. Sankey, is asking all of his kiddie conferences what their future goals are.
“Pac-12, let’s start with you,” Mr. Sankey says. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Replies the Pac-12: “I wanna be big and strong so I can beat up everybody — just like the SEC!!!”
“Good answer,” Mr. Sankey says. “And what about you, ACC?”
“When I grow up, Mr. Sankey, I’m gonna be rich — just like the SEC!!!”
“Excellent!” Mr. Sankey says, tousling the ACC’s moppy head of hair. “And how about you, Big 12?”
“I’m gonna to be so famous that everybody is gonna watch me on TV on my own network — just like the SEC!!!”
“Bravo!” Mr. Sankey exclaims. “OK, Big Ten, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I wanna be so popular that all the best players are gonna want come play with me — just like the SEC!!!”
“Children,” Mr. Sankey says, “I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.”
For some reason, this is the picture that popped into my head earlier this week when the SEC announced it was giving each of its 14 members an extra $23 million to help mitigate the massive financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SEC (Scads of Extra Cash) is financing the $322 million distribution through future earnings on a lucrative media-rights deal with ESPN that begins in 2024.
Essentially, this means the Florida Gators are getting a $23 million stimulus check from the SEC to help cover the costs of the expected $60 million in lost revenue from last fall when ticket sales and booster contributions plunged due to the pandemic. When news of the SEC bailout broke earlier this week, I’m just imagining FSU athletics director David Coburn was on the phone to ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, saying: “Hey, bro, did you see what the SEC did? When do we get our stimi check?”
Perhaps all of the other conferences already had plans to help their member schools financially recover from the pandemic, but if they didn’t, you better believe they do now. Once again, the SEC and commissioner Greg Sankey are blazing a trail that the rest of college football will no doubt have to follow.
We saw it happen last summer when the Big Ten and Pac-12 originally decided to cancel the football season, but when the SEC decided to move forward and try to play, the ACC and Big 12 followed suit while the Big Ten and Pac-12 soon flip-flopped and decided they, too, would play.
This epitomized the power and the prestige of the Southeastern Conference — a football-fanatical league with an official mantra that pretty much says it all: “SEC: It Just Means More.”
It may sound egotistical, but it’s absolutely true.
In the SEC, college football does mean more.
More passion.
More fans.
More money.
More national championships.
More great players.
I won’t bore you with the complete list of SEC superlatives, but here are just a few:
— How good are the athletes in the league? The SEC broke its own record with 65 players taken during the just-completed NFL Draft, continuing the conference’s dominance over the three-day event. If you’re scoring at home, the SEC has led the nation’s conferences in NFL Draft picks for 15 consecutive seasons. And, oh by the way, according to 247Sports.com, the SEC boasted seven of last year’s top-10 high school recruiting classes.
— How passionate are the fans in the league? The SEC has led the nation in overall and average football attendance for 22 straight seasons. Enough said.
— How much money does the league pour into its football and overall athletic programs? According to the latest figures compiled by USA Today, SEC schools have five of the top 10 athletic budgets in the nation and 10 of the top 20. In addition, six of the top 10 highest-paid coaches in college football reside in the SEC.
Several years ago, when Jimbo Fisher was still at FSU, I asked him why the SEC is so dominant and why he was attempting to build the Seminoles in the image of an SEC program.
“It’s not just the athletes, it’s the programs,” Jimbo replied then. “It’s the money that’s spent in the programs, the money that’s spent in player development, the money that’s spent all the way around. That’s what we’re embarking on at Florida State.”
As it turned out, FSU wasn’t spending fast enough or massively enough for Jimbo’s liking and he is now, of course, coaching in the SEC at Texas A&M.
Meanwhile, at Nick Saban Elementary School, Mr. Sankey is giving the kids an impromptu pop quiz.
“OK, students, which conference has played in the national championship game in 14 of the last 15 years and won 11 of them?”
Everybody raises their hand at once, and the teacher lets them all answer in unison.
“It’s the SEC, Mr. Sankey!!!”
“Very good, children.
“Very good.”
