DALLAS — SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reiterated Monday that the league is focused on its 16 members and is not recruiting any more, in remarks to open SEC media days.
In the first few days of media coverage with Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC, Sankey was asked several times about the future of the league and how much attention he pays to the current lawsuits between Florida State, Clemson and the ACC.
Judges in Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina are currently hearing arguments in those cases. Florida State and Clemson have filed lawsuits challenging the grant of rights; the ACC has sued those schools to defend the conference.
There has been much speculation that the SEC could be a landing spot for Florida State and Clemson if both schools leave the ACC.
Sankey said he's aware of what's happening in the ACC, but “we're focused on our 16.”
“I'm not a recruiter. My job is to make sure we meet the standard of excellence that we set for ourselves every day,” Sankey said. “That's what drives interest. We've done that with the two schools we've brought in this year. They're not the only phone calls I've gotten, but I'm not involved in recruiting.
“Our presidents have been clear that I'm not going to get involved in litigation related to expansion. So I pay attention, but I don't participate in those conversations. The broader implications, obviously, if things change, then there's a new level of uncertainty. It already creates speculation that I think is counterproductive, but I don't spend a huge amount of my time thinking about it. I certainly don't spend time participating in that recruiting activity because we're focused on our 16.”
In his opening remarks to kick off SEC media days, Sankey noted that “Sixteen is ours today and 16 is ours tomorrow.”
Asked later at his press conference whether tomorrow means we will be staying at 16 for a long time, Sankey said: “We are focused on our 16 members. I have a responsibility to pay attention and I'm certainly not going to fuel speculation about what happens next. We can certainly stay at 16 for a long, long time and be incredibly successful.”
The SEC voted to add Texas and Oklahoma in 2021, setting off another wave of reorganizations in response. The Big Ten added USC and UCLA, then Washington and Oregon, while the Pac-12 split. The Big 12 now includes former Pac-12 members Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, and the ACC added Stanford, Cal and SMU. The new configurations of all four conferences begin with the start of the 2024 season.
Sankey noted in his comments that the SEC's expansion, unlike the others, has mitigated its travel footprint.
“We know who we are,” Sankey said. “We’re the only conference at this level where the name still means something — the southeastern part of the United States, where when we expanded, we actually reestablished historic rivalries while adding just 100 miles to the longest campus-to-campus commute our student-athletes will ever experience.”
Asked if there was any possibility of expanding beyond the Southeast, Sankey said, “We're focused on our 16 states, period. You've seen how we've made decisions over the last decade and more to bring contiguous states together. I think that's incredibly sensible and provides remarkable strength.
“I'm not going to guess what will happen next.”
