Sankey: SEC has talked about going it alone

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addresses the media (SEC Photo)

TAMPA – The college sports version of the most interesting man in the world took to the podium Monday morning to open Southeastern Conference Media Days at the J.W. Marriott Hotel with his annual state of the SEC address. Greg Sankey is without question the single most powerful man in all of college sports. He doesn’t speak with chest-thumping arrogance but rather with words that begin as a ripple in the water only to soon gather the momentum of an approaching tsunami.

This four-day event that is the largest and most important college sports media gathering, a veritable who’s who of the writing and broadcasting world. They come to hear coaches and players from the 16 SEC schools offer up well-rehearsed rah-rah, sis boom bah, we’re going to be really good if God shines upon us talking points that are like the smoke from a good barbecue joint that makes our mouths water in anticipation.

Prior to the coaches and players doing their usual dog and pony show routines, Sankey delivered a message that basically told the other conferences and schools that make up Division I that the SEC is big enough, bad enough and more than capable of going it alone if necessary. He wasn’t the least bit obnoxious nor was there even a hint of arrogance.

It started with a message to the Nostradamus impersonators who have pointed to the Big Ten bringing home the big trophy in football three straight years and in both men’s and women’s basketball this year as evidence the Southeastern Conference's reign at the top is a thing of the past.

“Our institutions had to navigate historic levels of change while continuing to provide outstanding educational and competitive opportunities for our student-athletes,” Sankey said. “That means that on the field we experienced a conference-record 13-team national championships. Our previous high was 10. We have 22 sports in which we sponsor championships. Over half of those right now are national champions.

“We placed more teams than any other conference in the College Football Playoff. While we didn't achieve the ultimate destination of a national championship, the strength of this conference in football is clear. When you go beyond football and look at post-season participation in NCAA championships throughout our sports inventory, it is typical that Southeastern Conference teams fill most or the highest number of teams represented in those brackets.”

That was a strong left jab, the kind that stings but is merely the setup for the knee-buckling right designed to score a first round TKO. The jab was effective, but follow-up was devastating.

Hard core facts have a way of doing that.

“Southeastern Conference football remains the second most-watched sports property in the United States, trailing only the National Football League,” Sankey said. “We account for just over 40 percent of the live viewership hours consumed among the four major conferences. Our football programs draw an average of 80,000 fans per game. That's our average number. This was the stat of my summer. That is the highest average attendance for any sport league in the world. We're national leaders in attendance in just about every other sport sponsored by the Southeastern Conference. Across every measure, interest in our league continues to grow.”

Digest that.

Forty percent of all televisions in the country that are tuned in on the power conferences – the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 – prefer the SEC. Sixteen SEC schools AVERAGE 80,000 fans per game. The NFL may attract more television viewers than the SEC, but when it comes to fannies in seats at stadiums, the SEC lives up to its motto: It just means more.

The other leagues can’t compete with the passion and loyalty of Southeastern Conference fans. Sankey knows this which is why he has drawn a line in the sand, telling both the United States Senate, which is desperately trying to pass the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, and everybody else that while the SEC wants reform it won't come at the price of subjugation. Generally speaking, he is all for the kind of legislative relief that can stop the out of control spiral that threatens the very existence of all college sports, but in particular, football since it pays the freight for the other sports.

Generally, not completely.

As it is written, the bill sponsored by senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) has portions that Sankey and the school presidents and athletic directors that make up the SEC find unacceptable. When countering the Senate proposal, the SEC has offered what Sankey calls “10 common sense suggestions,” suggestions that he says are “not SEC issues” but designed to “benefit all of college athletics in providing a national solution.”

The counter proposal is founded on four principles: 1. National standards that have to be enforced; 2. Federal legislation designed to kneecap state laws designed to circumvent rules; 3. Transparency and accountability; and 4. Fair and consistent standards rather than different rules for different organizations.

"We believe changes to the act are necessary to make it most effective, and the changes we've suggested are both achievable and reasonable, and we're committed to working with Congress to move the legislation across the finish line," Sankey said.

So what happens if the Senate refuses to compromise and the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 plus the other conferences band together and draw their own line in the dirt to oppose “big brother” and his assertive ways? Sankey has the resources to stand alone if that happens.

The evolution of college sports has created two wealthy conferences – the SEC and Big Ten – and everybody else who mostly struggle to balance the books. You could call the SEC and Big Ten the haves and everybody else the have nots. The haves have lucrative television contracts. The have nots, who count pennies while the Big Ten and SEC are swimming in Olympic-sized pools filled with dollars want broadcast dollars pooled, which is what the NFL does. Of course, the NFL benefits from collective bargaining agreements, salary caps and beneficial labor laws, all of which are unavailable to college sports.

Both the SEC and Big Ten are vehemently opposed to pooling their media rights, which is a major sticking point in the Protect College Sports Act. The SEC has a contract with ESPN/Disney/ABC that is good through 2034, expected to pay each league school anywhere from $20-to-40 million more than their ACC and Big 12 cousins.

The Big Ten has a three network coalition between Fox, CBS and NBC that could match or exceed the payouts to SEC schools.

So what would the SEC do if there is no compromise? The rumblings that the SEC would be willing to circle its wagons and go it alone aren’t fantasy. Georgia president Jere Morehead has suggested it and Sankey didn’t deny that it’s a possibility that is on the table for consideration.

"People have talked about that," Sankey said. "The frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different. I do not believe that is a leverage point. I think that's honest communication."

In other words, the most powerful man in all of college sports isn’t blinking, rather he has a plan B ready to go and if that means it is the SEC against the world, so be it.

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The lawsuits challenging the new 5-for-5 legislation keep mounting. Among the latest, 11 California athletes who have completed their fourth year have sued, asking for a temporary restraining order that will give them a fifth year of eligibility. Also, a former starting offensive guard at Texas, has sued in an Austin court for his fifth year. There will be more lawsuits and per an email with attorney Darren Heitz, who is at the forefront of these legal challenges, the suits will not be confined to just basketball and football.  

Sankey is not in favor of the way the NCAA has written these new rules which grant five years to athletes who have played three or fewer years while excluding last year’s fourth-year seniors.

“I don't control that decision-making,” Sankey said. “Our input was that the NCAA not proceed on the timeline that it chose to introduce. The membership voted to pursue. I think there was more information and research that was needed. My observation comes from someone who back in the '90s, when I was in the Southland Conference office staff, wrote a resolution about looking at five seasons of eligibility.”

The NCAA can choose to continue to fight these lawsuits in court, where local judges have ruled favorably for the athletes, or compromise by grandfathering in last year’s fourth-year seniors. Compromise would be prudent since the NCAA keeps losing in court and it is costing millions in legal fees, but Sankey said he is unaware which direction the NCAA chooses to go.

“You're going to have to ask Charlie Baker and his legal team how they intend to defend those lawsuits and whether they'll make a pivot,” Sankey said.