DESTIN, Fla. — As college athletics faces historic changes, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said he is trying to find a balance between being a “statesman” and being “forceful” in his opinions, knowing that his conference and the Big Ten have positioned themselves in leadership roles capable of influencing the future landscape.
“There are times when I think I have a correct perspective and I share it clearly, but I think this becomes a matter of us,” Sankey told reporters after the first day of the SEC spring meetings. “I told my presidents, I was very direct, 'you expect me to be a statesman, there are times when you have to be forceful,' and you have to find a balance in these leadership positions between the two.”
The SEC formed an advisory group with the Big Ten in February, and Sankey said it was an “important opportunity,” especially after a series of national meetings in which progress was stalling, including with the Division I Council of the NCAA. The advisory group was formed, he said, to “narrow that conversation” because “you don't solve really big problems with big rooms full of people.”
SEC football and basketball coaches, athletic directors and administrators began addressing those issues here after the NCAA's historic House v. NCAA and two related antitrust cases that will result in $2.7 billion in back damages and a new revenue sharing model.
The balance of power shifted further in favor of the Big Ten and SEC after commissioners agreed to the new College Football Playoff revenue sharing model, which further financially separated the SEC and Big Ten from the others by giving each school more than 21 million dollars a year.
Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti have worked more closely than their predecessors, but their FBS peers have agreed that “relationships have been strong” as they discuss important national issues, such as possible roster limits and how the Title IX will be taken into account in the agreements.
“That doesn't mean I haven't gotten a phone call from one of my colleagues saying, 'Why did you do this?' or 'Why did you say that?'” Sankey said. “Okay. That's how this big thing in college athletics that involves 32 Division 1 conferences works… that's how it works. That's our reality.”
Sankey said this week's discussions are focused on what they can do at the conference level, but future expansion of the SEC is not at the top of the priority list right now. This was the first time Texas coach Steven Sarkisian and Oklahoma coach Brent Venables participated in the spring meetings, as their respective schools will officially join the SEC on July 1.
That doesn't mean Sankey isn't paying attention to the ongoing lawsuits at the ACC. ACC, Clemson and Florida State are embroiled in lawsuits over the vesting agreement intended to keep ACC schools on a television contract through 2036, an agreement that those two schools say is no longer financially competitive and that has its fans, according to a FOIA request made by ESPN, demanding that they leave the league.
“I told my presidents, I was very direct, 'you expect me to be a statesman, there are times when you have to be forceful,' and you have to find a balance in these leadership positions between the two.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey
“I'm aware of what's going on around us,” Sankey said. “I think we're in a really great position as a league… We respect that there are agreements and situations that prevent a lot of movement and that's why our focus has been on our 16, mine has been… but I pay attention… We would be fine if everyone stayed in their current lineup.”
Earlier this month, there were multiple reports that private investment firms had created a platform to help college athletic departments find funding, a revenue source that Sankey warned against. He noted that professional leagues have policies on how private equity is used, which he said is “a note of caution that suggests people should carefully consider whether they get involved in it.”
“In my experience, those involved in private equity want to get paid,” he said, “so I would caution people against the notion of short-term solutions.
“I understand why private equity is interested in college sports,” he said. “If I were out there watching all the good things happening around college sports, I'd like to be a part of that action, too. I'd take that interest as a compliment.”
