SEC commissioner Greg Sankey paid tribute to the late, great Mike Leach on Monday at the start of the 2023 SEC media days event.
In a small but heartwarming gesture, Sankey took to the podium sans a necktie, paying homage to the legendary college football coach who died in December 2022 due to complications from a heart condition.
The tribute stems from a conversation Sankey and Leach had at the 2022 SEC media days, during which the former Mississippi State head coach iterated that he’s not a fan of neckties, preferring not to wear them at all.
“It was a conversation that went much longer than anticipated, and it ended in the rhetorical question of why neckties survived when powder wigs went away,” Sankey said Monday, sharing some of the details of his conversation with Leach the previous year, via the Clarion Ledger.
In addition to Sankey’s ditching the necktie for his opening speech, the commissioner spoke about the legacy Leach left behind.
“He was fascinating and impacted the lives of thousands of people across the college football spectrum and across his life. He provided wedding advice, evaluated Halloween candy, and if you ended up in a phone call taking about history, you better have scheduled a great deal of time as he recited his historical knowledge,” said Sankey.
Across 21 years as a college football head coach, Leach spent time at Texas Tech (2000-09), Washington State (2012-19) and Mississippi State (2020-22), winning a total of 158 games and going 8-9 in bowl games.
