Greg Sankey on if new schedule will be decided at SEC meetings: 'Could be'

All eyes, at least within the SEC, will be on Destin this week. There’s a lot to discuss within the Southeastern Conference, specifically when it comes to the potential schedule change that’s been on the table for some time now.

Even so, Greg Sankey said in an interview at the SEC Tournament championship in Hoover that there’s no guarantee that it officially happens. It “could” certainly take place but, with everything that’s on the docket, it could end up like last year’s meetings where they didn’t decide anything.

“(It) could be. We’re poised. Last year, I said we were poised to make a decision and then we did not,” Sankey said. “We’ve got an early entry date now for Oklahoma and Texas; so that creates some adjustments. (We’re) also thinking about the expansion of the College Football Playoff. Non-conference scheduling (is) in there, how we smooth the entry from repeat site type games. So there’s a lot to talk through.”

“Yeah, we could make a decision,” added Sankey. “And we’ll keep the ratings high and say stay tuned to the Finebaum Show everyday.”

From there, Sankey talked with Tom Hart, Chris Burke, and Kyle Peterson about whether the SEC’s current eight-game model or the proposed nine-game schedule would be more valuable. To him, though, he isn’t looking at it solely from the standpoint of monetary value. Sankey is also concerned with making overall value in the SEC when it comes to matchups and competitive games between all the conference members.

“It’s not just a revenue value if you will. It’s the thrill of the competition. The ability to see teams more frequently, to protect more of the traditional matchups that we know exist,” said Sankey. “Whatever direction we go right now seems to be a single division. We can see teams all within four years, home and away. Whether those are annual matchups with some teams or every other year is part of the determination.

“I think the value is the interest and competition,” Sankey said. “Like our football athletes say, ‘Hey, we want to play in these venues against each other. It’s thrilling for us.'”

There’s no telling whether anyone approves or shoots down anything this week in Florida. It’ll all just depend on what everyone says and how far negotiations do end up going in order to see whether eight becomes nine for the SEC moving forward.