Greg Sankey on the next step in college athletics: 'There is no easy answer'

As the college sports world waits for what’s next following the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, conversations are ongoing on Capitol Hill. Last week, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to move the Protecting Student Athlete’s Economic Freedom Act to the House floor – the first such college sports bill to advance that far in recent memory.

But there’s still plenty left to figure out about what the next steps will look like, according to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. When asked about what lies ahead during an appearance on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” he said there’s still plenty of work ahead.

“There is no easy answer,” Sankey said. “And I want to be very clear that that’s reality. There are answers. Every answer that we seek needs work.”

After the Power Conferences approved the House settlement, the next step is for a judge to certify it. While that plays out, there’s the issue of athlete employment, which is the focus of the bill heading to the House floor. The bill would codify athletes are not employees of an institution, conference or association, On3’s Pete Nakos reported.

With so much to discuss, Sankey said he knows there are plenty of people weighing in on the issues. But he wants leadership to keep its focus on the task at hand, and that’s why he wants to keep pointing out the “reality” of the landscape.

“I watch, probably like you, the D1Ticker show up every day and I see commentary and opinions from all parts of the country, all kinds of different campuses. And that’s what it is, is opinion and commentary,” Sankey said. “What is ahead is negotiating through – through counsel, through our own decision-making. Plaintiff’s counsel is a piece of this. A long-form agreement, understanding timelines that the court will establish – and some of which has been established. And I mention that not because it’s particularly enjoyable to discuss on a Friday afternoon, but that is reality.

“There is an opportunity for us to participate in decision-making about the future of college athletics. Not to sit on the sidelines and watch what’s happening around us, not to simply comment and opine, but also to participate in substantive decision-making.”

How Congress could fit in to future of college sports

Greg Sankey has long supported Congressional help when it comes to the future of college athletics. Over the last few years, as the NIL era evolved, he made multiple trips to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers.

That was again the case last week. But Sankey knows it won’t be an easy road for Congress to step in because of other pressing issues around the country. That said, it’s not easy to predict what comes next when it comes to legislation.

“That’s the great unknown,” Sankey said. “I think it’s not unknowable, but it is the unknown. We have made plenty of trips and had many, many conversations – even some this week, in addition to those last week – with Congressional leaders. Our responsibility is to educate, and it’s important to understand what one can control and what one cannot control.”

When it comes to the Protecting Student Athlete’s Economic Freedom Act, the commissioner said that process needs to play out, as well. Although the bill is heading to the floor, there’s still work to be done. As for generating support, Greg Sankey said it has to come from both sides of the aisle.

“It was encouraging to see a piece of legislation move through the House education committee last week,” Sankey said. “I’ll just note that’s the first time that college athletics-related legislation around some of our current issues has advanced. That doesn’t mean it’s at the finish line, either. We do need bipartisan participation and bipartisan support around all these solutions. We’re very aware of that reality.

“The election, we know, is gonna be done at some point. I think that’s a way to phrase it, given some of our recent experiences politically. And part of it, the need to educate right now is it’s impossible to predict outcomes. So the ability to build relationships, to have conversations, to facilitate the information flow across both aisles with both houses is an important aspect of the work.”