The Big Ten and the SEC have formed a joint advisory group of university presidents, chancellors and athletic directors to “address the significant challenges facing college athletics” and how to improve the student-athlete experience, the conferences announced Friday.
The move is significant because it reflects a growing relationship between the two largest and wealthiest conferences and their respective commissioners as the balance of power continues to tilt in their favor in the evolving college landscape.
Sources have told ESPN that Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey have been working closely, more so than their predecessors, at a time when conference expansion has further separated its leagues from the other FBS conferences. The SEC will welcome Oklahoma and Texas this summer, while the Big Ten will add Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA from a Pac-12 that is on the brink of extinction.
The advisory group was formed in reaction to “recent court decisions, pending litigation, a patchwork of state laws, and complex governance proposals,” according to the Big Ten press release.
“The Big Ten and the SEC have a substantial investment in the NCAA and there is no question that the voices of our two conferences are integral to governance and other reform efforts,” Petitti said in a statement. “We recognize the similarity of our circumstances, as well as the urgency of addressing the common challenges we face.”
The Big Ten-SEC advisory group will act as a consultant to the leagues, but will not have authority to implement changes. Its composition and schedule, as well as the specific issues it will address, are still unclear. However, what it has done is unite the two giants even more.
“There are similar cultural and social impacts on our student-athletes, our institutions and our communities due to the new collegiate athletic environment,” Sankey said in a statement. “We don't have predetermined answers to the countless questions we face. We don't expect to agree on everything, but improving interaction between our conferences will help focus efforts on common-sense solutions.”
