The Commish will have a lot to say today.
The SEC is the primary player in college football and he's the top guy.
*****
Sankey and his wife says they just became grandparents last week. He accepts kudos.
He says Nashville is "a good intersection of football for (the SEC)" noting that Vanderbilt opens the SEC season at home against Hawai'i.
(He's namedropping basically anyone and everyone associated with sports in Nashville and even the Tennessee D.O.T.)
He promotes a new program on the SEC Network coming up this week that centers on Roy Kramer's role in the SEC taking control of college football. He's a very important figure and one that a lot of younger SEC folks don't know or don't remember. I'll be watching.
He laments the school shooting in Nashville back in March. "We know that day, March 22, could have been worse." Sankey then introduces five members of the Nashville Metro PD, who were part of that response team. The crowd of reporters justly cheers these heroes.
He notes that the SEC also has lost athletes, coaches, assistant coaches, campus leaders. He says they are all missed.
Sankey takes time to note that he isn't wearing a tie today in deference to MSU football Mike Leach, who passed away in December. (Leach was famously anti-tie.) "We will miss Mike, but he will not be forgotten."
Sankey lists the league's athletic accomplishments from the past year. Talks about having No. 1 picks in NFL Draft, WNBA Draft and MLB Draft plus top two college players in the NBA draft. Had 88 players on NFL rosters on Opening Day 2022 including at least three from each program.
SEC lead the nation in average attendance at baseball for the 27th consecutive season. SEC also led in softball, women's basketball and gymnastics, too.
Reminds us that the SEC is entering its final season as a 14-team football conference. "The season ahead will be our last with two divisions, East and West."
2024 Media Days will be held in Dallas.
"We're going to honor our CBS friends ... as that relationship enters its final season."
He commends Bill Hancock for his role leading the BCS and College Football playoff. "I want to say in front of all, thank you, Bill, for all your work and leadership." Smattering of applause ensues.
"We have important work ahead that requires a new level of collaboration," he says of adding Oklahoma and Texas.
On NIL: "In many ways, it's a been a net positive for young people. There are stories ... of promises made and not fulfilled. Of empty commitments. Our student-athletes deserve something better than a race to the bottom at the state legislature level."
He then laments a "fully unregulated" market that doesn't include "protections many of us would expect to be normal."
"If states will not enforce these reasonable policies ... then congressional action is then the only way to provide a national, uniform standard for name-image-likeness."
"Our student-athletes continue to ask for uniformity."
"Student-athletes ask for our help in guiding them through these challenges. They want protections for themselves and their teammates and they want opportunity for their international teammates that are consistent across the country."
He says he hasn't met an informed athlete who wants to be an employee.
"The reality is that only congress can fully address the challenges facing college athletes. The NCAA cannot fix these issues. The courts cannot resolve all of these issues. The states cannot resolve all of these issues ... nor can the conferences."
He continues to hammer this point that congress must get involved. "We seek the empowerment of college athletes while also protecting them from bad actors."
"Let's not kid ourselves into thinking this is the best we can do for our student-athletes."
Now he's headed for sports gambling. This is an issue because Alabama's baseball coach got caught. "We continuye to hear more and more from our coaches and student-athletes about the increasing level of abusive and threating behavior online often directed at them after someone involved in gambling activity ends up on the wrong side of a score or a game's outcome. The problem can be even worse for game officials."
He says states involved in legalized sports gambling have a responsibility to protect folks from this kind of abuse.
Now he's finds an optimistic tone. "I'm convinced that the best days of the Southeastern Conference still remain ahead."
***QUESTION AND ANSWER TIME***
• Question about bringing the SEC football championship to Nashville. "(Atlanta) is where our focus is with that particular championship."
• Question about feedback from coaches regarding clock no longer stopping after first downs. "There will be some adjustments as things move along rapidly. You have a variety of offensive approaches. In some games, you won't even notice it. Part of the learning experience is that you do reduce the number of plays in a game. We'll have to be mindful of outcomes and that perhaps there are other adjustments that can be made."
• Question about Texas' NIL law that seem to help Texas and Texas A&M. "There's been overly broad language. We're all going to confronted ... about how this is going to be overseen. This is the exact wrong way to go about (this). This speaks the need for a national standard."
• Question about conference growth. (Not sure what he means.) "I spoke of the need fror collaboration ... abotu laws that emanate from states that affect our universities. People want to be part of this conference. Is there pain in that? Sure, but there's a price to be paid for progress."
• Question from Bunker goat Pat Forde about crowd-storming fines. "Fines are increased." (Money goes to visiting schools.)
• Question about what he wants from NIL laws/rules. "Some level of registration of agents. Level of transparency in communication. Third is financial support."
• Question about eliminating divisions in football. "That goes back 2018, 2019. Is (division play) the most competitively equitable? The words "fair" and "balanced" came up a lot. After expansion was announced, "balance" was rotating teams through with increased frequency. "Fairness" was narrowing the competitive equity band, which is what we achieved with the 8-game schedule announced in June."
• Question about why the 9-game schedule was 86'd. Was it about revenue? "No. There were a lot of issues." (Sankey mentions new members, CFP changes and what that will mean with more teams, non-conference schedules.) "I really think our 8-game schedule is pretty remarkable; there are 16 difficult schedules."
• Question about NIL collectives. "One of the concerns ... is transferring control at an institutional level of rosters, who's on a roster, pressure on playing time from coaches up the chain of command ... to an outside entity. People have opined about booster influence, but with (NIL) collective activity about which we've read, it amplifies the concern of who's really in charge."
• Question about more growth in this conference. "My standard observation (is) that we're already a super conference. I've been careful. When I was here in Atlanta last year, I was clear that we were focused on our growth to 16. I've watched others' message about 'we're not done yet,' but I just don't think that's healthy. Maybe there's no clean way to deal with conference membership. Do I think it's done? Right now, it appears others are going to decide that before we have to make any decisions. We know who we are. We're comfortable as a league. We're focused on our growth to 16. We can stay at that level of super conference. When you go bigger, there are a whole other set of factors that have to be considered. I'm not sure I've seen those teased out other than in my mind late at night."
The SEC is the primary player in college football and he's the top guy.
*****
Sankey and his wife says they just became grandparents last week. He accepts kudos.
He says Nashville is "a good intersection of football for (the SEC)" noting that Vanderbilt opens the SEC season at home against Hawai'i.
(He's namedropping basically anyone and everyone associated with sports in Nashville and even the Tennessee D.O.T.)
He promotes a new program on the SEC Network coming up this week that centers on Roy Kramer's role in the SEC taking control of college football. He's a very important figure and one that a lot of younger SEC folks don't know or don't remember. I'll be watching.
He laments the school shooting in Nashville back in March. "We know that day, March 22, could have been worse." Sankey then introduces five members of the Nashville Metro PD, who were part of that response team. The crowd of reporters justly cheers these heroes.
He notes that the SEC also has lost athletes, coaches, assistant coaches, campus leaders. He says they are all missed.
Sankey takes time to note that he isn't wearing a tie today in deference to MSU football Mike Leach, who passed away in December. (Leach was famously anti-tie.) "We will miss Mike, but he will not be forgotten."
Sankey lists the league's athletic accomplishments from the past year. Talks about having No. 1 picks in NFL Draft, WNBA Draft and MLB Draft plus top two college players in the NBA draft. Had 88 players on NFL rosters on Opening Day 2022 including at least three from each program.
SEC lead the nation in average attendance at baseball for the 27th consecutive season. SEC also led in softball, women's basketball and gymnastics, too.
Reminds us that the SEC is entering its final season as a 14-team football conference. "The season ahead will be our last with two divisions, East and West."
2024 Media Days will be held in Dallas.
"We're going to honor our CBS friends ... as that relationship enters its final season."
He commends Bill Hancock for his role leading the BCS and College Football playoff. "I want to say in front of all, thank you, Bill, for all your work and leadership." Smattering of applause ensues.
"We have important work ahead that requires a new level of collaboration," he says of adding Oklahoma and Texas.
On NIL: "In many ways, it's a been a net positive for young people. There are stories ... of promises made and not fulfilled. Of empty commitments. Our student-athletes deserve something better than a race to the bottom at the state legislature level."
He then laments a "fully unregulated" market that doesn't include "protections many of us would expect to be normal."
"If states will not enforce these reasonable policies ... then congressional action is then the only way to provide a national, uniform standard for name-image-likeness."
"Our student-athletes continue to ask for uniformity."
"Student-athletes ask for our help in guiding them through these challenges. They want protections for themselves and their teammates and they want opportunity for their international teammates that are consistent across the country."
He says he hasn't met an informed athlete who wants to be an employee.
"The reality is that only congress can fully address the challenges facing college athletes. The NCAA cannot fix these issues. The courts cannot resolve all of these issues. The states cannot resolve all of these issues ... nor can the conferences."
He continues to hammer this point that congress must get involved. "We seek the empowerment of college athletes while also protecting them from bad actors."
"Let's not kid ourselves into thinking this is the best we can do for our student-athletes."
Now he's headed for sports gambling. This is an issue because Alabama's baseball coach got caught. "We continuye to hear more and more from our coaches and student-athletes about the increasing level of abusive and threating behavior online often directed at them after someone involved in gambling activity ends up on the wrong side of a score or a game's outcome. The problem can be even worse for game officials."
He says states involved in legalized sports gambling have a responsibility to protect folks from this kind of abuse.
Now he's finds an optimistic tone. "I'm convinced that the best days of the Southeastern Conference still remain ahead."
***QUESTION AND ANSWER TIME***
• Question about bringing the SEC football championship to Nashville. "(Atlanta) is where our focus is with that particular championship."
• Question about feedback from coaches regarding clock no longer stopping after first downs. "There will be some adjustments as things move along rapidly. You have a variety of offensive approaches. In some games, you won't even notice it. Part of the learning experience is that you do reduce the number of plays in a game. We'll have to be mindful of outcomes and that perhaps there are other adjustments that can be made."
• Question about Texas' NIL law that seem to help Texas and Texas A&M. "There's been overly broad language. We're all going to confronted ... about how this is going to be overseen. This is the exact wrong way to go about (this). This speaks the need for a national standard."
• Question about conference growth. (Not sure what he means.) "I spoke of the need fror collaboration ... abotu laws that emanate from states that affect our universities. People want to be part of this conference. Is there pain in that? Sure, but there's a price to be paid for progress."
• Question from Bunker goat Pat Forde about crowd-storming fines. "Fines are increased." (Money goes to visiting schools.)
• Question about what he wants from NIL laws/rules. "Some level of registration of agents. Level of transparency in communication. Third is financial support."
• Question about eliminating divisions in football. "That goes back 2018, 2019. Is (division play) the most competitively equitable? The words "fair" and "balanced" came up a lot. After expansion was announced, "balance" was rotating teams through with increased frequency. "Fairness" was narrowing the competitive equity band, which is what we achieved with the 8-game schedule announced in June."
• Question about why the 9-game schedule was 86'd. Was it about revenue? "No. There were a lot of issues." (Sankey mentions new members, CFP changes and what that will mean with more teams, non-conference schedules.) "I really think our 8-game schedule is pretty remarkable; there are 16 difficult schedules."
• Question about NIL collectives. "One of the concerns ... is transferring control at an institutional level of rosters, who's on a roster, pressure on playing time from coaches up the chain of command ... to an outside entity. People have opined about booster influence, but with (NIL) collective activity about which we've read, it amplifies the concern of who's really in charge."
• Question about more growth in this conference. "My standard observation (is) that we're already a super conference. I've been careful. When I was here in Atlanta last year, I was clear that we were focused on our growth to 16. I've watched others' message about 'we're not done yet,' but I just don't think that's healthy. Maybe there's no clean way to deal with conference membership. Do I think it's done? Right now, it appears others are going to decide that before we have to make any decisions. We know who we are. We're comfortable as a league. We're focused on our growth to 16. We can stay at that level of super conference. When you go bigger, there are a whole other set of factors that have to be considered. I'm not sure I've seen those teased out other than in my mind late at night."
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