Greg Sankey gives his take on 'it just means more' slogan for SEC

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey recently explained his feelings on the conference’s motto that “it just means more.”

As Sankey explained, it started with the need for a new marketing plan for the conference. So, the thought process became about what makes the SEC special as a conference.

“You know, it began in a creative experience with TRG, our ad firm, as we were trying to create just some spots and a tagline that fit the Southeastern Conference,” Greg Sankey said. “We’d never hit it right. I walked in, and I said what we have doesn’t work, and I was asked, well, what do you think sets the Southeastern Conference apart, and I said, what we do just means more. They asked me to explain that.”

Greg Sankey also looked to the history and birth of the SEC, emphasizing the value of college athletics in the region at that time.

“I actually started with our universities and their leadership role in our states over time, remembering the Southeastern Conference was created in the midst of the great depression, the economic, the educational impact, the social, the cultural impact, the sport’s impact, the rallying point that our universities represent in our region. It just struck me as having so much more depth and meaning where there might not have been major league baseball teams or NFL teams, it was a college athletics program, a college football team, a college basketball team, history you hear about college baseball and how our baseball has improved.”

Another key piece of the message comes from the passion that fans have for their teams within the Southeast.

“People could touch, they could feel, they could be a part of. When you’re in those moments, the pregame last Saturday, it’s probably my fifth time to be at that game at Auburn, is unlike any other. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. When I talked about walking into Kyle Field at the end of that game between OU and Texas, they announced the score, the roar, and you find the passion around Texas A&M and that rivalry. The first time I walked into an Alabama-Texas A&M game in a brand new Kyle Field as the SEC commissioner and just felt the passion that day,” Sankey said.

“Being in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when they played Texas in 2021 by happenstance just weeks after our announcing our expansion to 16, that’s a special moment and defines it. I could go on and on, to be in the Swamp, to be in Jacksonville, the Ole Miss–Georgia game at night, Sandstorm. I’m proud of what Vandy is doing around their facilities, the sellout string at Kentucky. I was there when Missouri first captured the east division, and that crowd was palpable. I was there in ’13; that’s where I saw a kick six happen; a night game in Baton Rouge, the Egg Bowl that I was at Thursday night. You could just go on and on, and you transfer that to basketball.”

Even beyond that, Sankey pointed to the legendary figures who have played and coached in the SEC throughout its history.

“I think just speaking those names and those places and those stadiums and those experiences illustrates that tagline in a meaningful way,” Sankey said. “I’ll finish the answer with the interactions with people who have been part of that experience, some of whom are on this Hall of Fame list, others who are in the College Football Hall of Fame, texting Archie Manning earlier today to have Eli [Manning] and Peyton [Manning] here to relive memories, that’s a description of what means more to people.”

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey details why he’s in favor of 12-team playoff

The College Football Playoff has recently fallen under controversy for leaving out Florida State. However, an expanded Playoff is coming and that’s something that Greg Sankey is in favor of happening.

“Look at the opportunity for a program like Missouri to access the national championship bracket. I think that’s enormously important. love to see Lane Kiffin in Columbus, Ohio in a couple of weeks.… Penn State–Texas. I mean look at that. You’d have four SEC teams in the opening round based on next year’s configuration. And one waiting to see what happens. And then look how it plays out – that’s excitement for college football,” Sankey said.

“What you miss [this year] is all of the teams that went through November hoping to access that 12-team [playoff]. I think that’s part of what’s missed. When you went from 2 to 4, you affected the regular season. And there’s all of this talk about, ‘Well, it’s going to change the regular season.’ But when I’ve talked to football players in our league and in others, you want the opportunity to play for the national championship, especially when you get to the end of the season and things are going well.”