Sankey shoots down idea of further SEC expansion

With Florida State and Clemson both signaling a desire to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference, rumors have started to swirl linking those programs and others to the Big 12, the B1G and the SEC. Sankey attempted to use his opening address Monday morning to halt discussion of further SEC expansion in its tracks.

"Sixteen is our today, and 16 is our tomorrow," he said.

Of course, that did not extend beyond Wednesday, which led to further questioning from the media assembled at the Omni Hotel. Sankey said any speculation about teams leaving the ACC would be "counterproductive", and reiterated that the SEC would not be "recruiting" teams to join the conference.

"We're focused on our 16, period," he said. "I certainly don't spend any time engaged in that recruiting activity because we're focused on our 16, and I want to be respectful of the difficulty that's currently faced with that issue ... We can certainly remain at 16 for a long, long time and be incredibly successful."

Sankey also discussed the still-perilous landscape of Name, Image and Likeness, which remains uncertain in spite of the NCAA settling of litigation in March. In spite of the prospect of a settlement that will lead to the paying of players directly through universities, the commissioner said many moving parts remain, from differing laws being passed at the state level to wealthy individuals trying to alter the situation.

"We are dealing with an incredibly complex set of issues that when I sit down with some of those leaders in the areas that I've mentioned and I describe the various challenges we face, it is universal, whether it's a professional league commissioner or a member of Congress, a high level attorney, at some point they'll look at me and say, that's the most complicated situation I've ever heard," Sankey said. "That's why there's no easy button."

Sankey did note the arrival of the conference's two new members, Oklahoma and Texas. He said the two programs are good cultural fits for the SEC -- but also indicated Dallas has been a target for Media Days since well before the two schools joined.

"We actually made an effort to move here in 2018 with Media Days, thought that Dallas might be the right first place. We have an incredible alumni population in the Metroplex, and we did some research on that back to 2018," he said. "We're a big part of Texas, and Texas is a big part of us now."

Sankey also shot down any idea that Texas will be allowed to play the role of bully in its new conference.

"Both are now part of a conference with peer athletic programs and peer universities, so they'll fit, and we'll fit together," he said.

Sankey noted that the arrival of the two new members restarts some bitter rivalries, mentioning Texas A&M and Texas in particular. He recounted a conversation with Aggie basketball forward Henry Coleman III, who asked when Texas would be joining the conference.

"Henry was on our men's basketball leadership council call and asked, 'When are they going to join?' I said, 'Is that because you don't want to play your in-state rival or you do?' He said, 'I want to play them as soon as I can,'" he said. "Our student-athletes want great competition. They want the excitement of our stadiums and our arenas. They want to be against the highest level of competition."