Greg Sankey on unrest within ACC: 'I pay attention'

As Talkin’ Season gets underway, rumors continue to swirl about the ACC. The league is fighting legal battles regarding its Grant of Rights, with Clemson and Florida State at the center of it all.

Rumors swirled about whether they could join the Big 12 if they eventually leave the league. That could lead to another round of conference realignment, fresh off the groundbreaking cycle last summer that saw the Pac-12 drop to just two teams.

Speaking at SEC Media Days in Dallas on Monday, commissioner Greg Sankey was asked if he’s following the ACC’s situation as his conference adds two new members this year. He made it clear the SEC is happy at 16 teams, but he admitted he still follows what’s playing out from his fellow Power Conference.

“I pay attention,” Sankey said. “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. That attracts interest. It’s done that with the two universities that we’ve added this year. They’re 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.

“In fact, as I understand, the issue is agreements have been signed, the decisions have been made among a conference and the question is, are those going to be honored as they were established? And apparently that’s for a court to decide now.”

Greg Sankey: ACC speculation is ‘counterproductive’

Florida State and Clemson are both going through the legal process against the ACC. FSU was the first of the two schools to challenge the ACC’s Grant of Rights, filing a lawsuit late last year to argue it should be able to leave the conference without penalty. Clemson then took a similar path, filing a suit of its own in March.

Both lawsuits center on the grant of rights – an agreement that gives conferences the right to broadcast all member schools’ home games for the duration of the media rights deal. The ACC’s contract with ESPN runs through 2036, and On3’s Andy Staples previously reported a buyout sits between $150 million and $572 million.

But as things stand, neither program is in position to leave the ACC. Of course, if things change, Greg Sankey said things could get murky – as would be expected.

“The broader implications? Obviously, if things change, then there’s a new level of uncertainty,” Sankey said. “It already creates speculation that I think is counterproductive. But I don’t spend an enormous amount of my time thinking about it. 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 set of issues within the ACC and my colleague, Jim Phillips.”

Why it might not make financial sense for Clemson, FSU to join Big 12

If those two programs decide to leave, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger indicated they have a few options. One could be the Big 12, which heard commissioner Brett Yormark say is still “open for business” after bringing in four Pac-12 programs. Dellenger indicated “early conversations” might help open that door if FSU and Clemson eventually leave the ACC.

However, Dellenger noted, there’s a financial component to that idea that might not make sense. Staples agreed, pointing out the different TV deals in place.

“I don’t know that you’re going to pay that very large number to go to the Big 12,” Staples said. “Like I said, the ACC is gonna come up with a number at some point down the road, but I don’t know if going to the Big 12 — and look the Big 12 would be able to do a new TV deal to at least probably add to its TV deal if they got brands like Florida State and Clemson — I just don’t know if it’s gonna be enough to justify the spend you have to make to get out of the ACC.”