The SEC is in an odd position relative to the current round of conference realignment in collegiate athletics.
The league ostensibly kicked off the early-2020s wave of musical chairs by poaching Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 in the summer of 2021. Since then, however, the league has kept a low profile—seemingly content to watch the other four Power Five leagues tear each ofter asunder in an effort to keep up.
With the six Power Five teams on the Pacific Coast about to join the Big Ten and ACC, the SEC’s additions of the Longhorns and Sooners suddenly appears downright sane to the public from a geographic standpoint. With the conference holding a kind of high ground, commissioner Greg Sankey tweaked rival conferences on The Paul Finebaum Show Friday afternoon.
"Our fans know us. We’re comfortable with who we are. We'’e really excited about moving to 16, and we have a great season ahead," Sankey said.
He then used simple math to assert the SEC’s superiority.
SEC Commissioner @GregSankey joined us live on set in Nashville reacting to the latest realignment news... pic.twitter.com/Pk0GvjDSv6
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) September 1, 2023
“Think about this. We added two universities, Oklahoma and Texas,"”Sankey said. “The Big 12 now I guess is positioned, they had to add eight ... The Big Ten’s added four, the ACC’s added three, and the humble Southeastern Conference will be at 16.”
On Friday, California, Stanford and SMU’s entrances into the ACC were finalized for the 2024 football season.
Sankey asked Finebaum if he remembered The Alliance, an ill-fated partnership between the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 Sankey called “fascinating.”
“I know why that was done,” Sankey said. “We’re gonna focus on growing the 16 and making decisions that are right for the Southeastern Conference. People debate and wonder why. Well, there’s a reason why.”
