Commissioner Greg Sankey kicked off SEC Media Days by announcing a partnership with Apple and taking a shot at other conferences. However, that was only the beginning, as he also touched on the additions of Texas and Oklahoma and if the league would consider further expansion in the near future.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Not Looking To Expand
When asked about the developing legal situation between Florida, Clemson, and the ACC, Sankey was clear:
“As I said, we’re focused on our 16. I’ve said before at Media Days, I’m not a recruiter. My job is to make sure we meet the standard of excellence that we have for ourselves on a daily basis.”
However, he admitted Oklahoma and Texas, who both officially joined the conference this year, weren’t the only two programs he’s had conference realignment conversations with.
“[Oklahoma and Texas] are not the only phone calls I’ve ever had, but I’m not involved in recruitment. Our presidents have been clear that I am not going to entangle us in litigation around expansion.
“So, I pay attention, but I’m not engaged in those conversations.”
Last offseason, reports surfaced that seven schools explored possible exits from the ACC before the league’s media deal with ESPN, which runs until 2036, expires.
The result was that Clemson and Florida State took the conference to court, claiming that the exit fees were “unconscionably high” and that the grant of rights only applied if the schools were part of the conference. This means that if they exit the league, they should retain control of their media rights to their home sporting events.
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This spring, there were also talks about North Carolina pushing to leave the ACC, although those conversations have seemingly stalled. Could the SEC bring one or two of those programs in? It’s possible, especially with the Big Ten currently at 18 teams.
However, don’t expect movement anytime soon.
The SEC kick-started the recent conference realignment movement in 2021. That summer, Oklahoma and Texas approached the league about joining, and once the two historic programs notified the Big 12 they did not wish to extend their grant of television rights, the SEC’s presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to extend invitations to them.
It wasn’t the first time the league stole two programs from the Big 12, as Missouri and Texas A&M came over in 2012. While the SEC is presumably done poaching from the conference for the foreseeable future, the ACC appears to be in its sights.
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