The SEC has no sense of panic, Commissioner Greg Sankey said as Football Media Days kicked off. There is a time and a place for this.
In his first public appearance since USC and UCLA announced their intent to eventually join the Big Ten, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said on Monday his conference is in no rush to expand beyond 16 teams.
Sankey told reporters there was no sense of panic. We are not just looking for affiliations that make us better. They might be out there. I don't think they're not. I don't think we will. The landscape is going to be evaluated. I won't speculate. I am watching a lot of the activity that is going on around us.
The decision of two of the Pac-12's flagship schools to join the Big Ten elicited public speculation about what conference will next move. Sankey said he was at his lake house in New York trying to get away for the summer. He waited a week to gather the league's presidents and chancellors together to make sure he had all of the facts, but also to prevent any false reports that they were planning an immediate response.
He wanted to be patient and communicate.
Sankey's comments came a week after the Big 12's media days, in which Yormark was candid in his comments about the Big 12 "exploring all options".
Yorkmark said last week that they were open for business. It's good. We're looking through all of them. I think it's fair to say I've gotten a lot of calls. Those levels of interest are being explored. There is nothing happening.
Yormark left the door open for Oklahoma and Texas to join the SEC before the official date of July 1, 2025. Sankey said it's not up to him if the Big 12's co- founders join the SEC.
He talked about the relationship between Oklahoma, Texas and the Big 12. The addition is going to be effective on July 1,25.
As the SEC prepares to become the first 16-team super conference and separate as the largest and wealthiest in the country, expectations are high. Sankey acknowledged that people call and hit around the edges.
Sankey said there was no sense of panic in the league. We're aware of who we are. We are confident in our ability to succeed. We're looking forward to the expansion of 16 teams and don't feel pressured to operate at a number, but we'll watch what happens around us and be careful.
Sankey's opening remarks on Monday hit a wide range of issues facing collegiate athletics as he is heavily involved in the future of the NCAA as a member of its transformation committee. The discussions about expanding the College Football Playoff beyond the current four-team field are still going on, and he still doesn't like the idea of automatic qualification for conference champion.
Sankey was one of the authors of the original 12-team proposal that was voted down.
Sankey said that they were going to take a step back from the model. Just earn your way, number of teams, whether there should be any guarantee for conference champion at all. There is something that is healthy about that and creates expectations.
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