Greg Sankey: SEC is last conference where 'name actually means something'

Last year, a groundbreaking round of conference realignment shook up the college sports landscape. Four teams joined the Big 12, four more left for the Big Ten and three headed to the ACC – leaving the Pac-12 with just two programs.

No teams, however, joined the SEC. The conference was preparing to add Oklahoma and Texas in a move three years in the making, and commissioner Greg Sankey chose to stay the course rather than take on more new programs.

With those additions, Sankey said Monday, the SEC kept its regional footprint and added more interesting matchups. That’s why he added the league’s “name actually means something.”

“We’ve been incredibly successful,” Sankey said in his opening statement from Dallas. “And I understand why so many outside of the campus and conference realm are interested in coming in and being a part of it. But that responsibility lies with us to bring people in to the solution, not to cede authority to external actors. We know who we are. In the Southeastern Conference, we’re the one conference at this level where the name still means something. The southeastern part of the United States, where when we expanded, we actually restored historic rivalries while adding only 100 miles to the longest campus-to-campus trip our student athletes will experience.

“We’re a conference where in survey after survey, we have the most avid fans by comparison. Not just the most draft picks, not just the most teams in a championship – but the people around our programs who want us to lead. Again, not give authority away. They’re passionate about their team and the competition among their team and the rivals in the Southeastern Conference.”

In July 2022, USC and UCLA announced their plans to leave for the Big Ten. They appeared to be the only two departures until last year when, in the middle of Big Ten Media Days, Colorado announced its intention to leave the Pac-12 and return to the Big 12.

When the remaining Pac-12 teams didn’t go for the streaming proposal with Apple, the dam broke. It was off to the races from there.

The other three “Four Corners” schools – Arizona, Arizona State and Utah – joined Colorado in the Big 12. Oregon and Washington then announced they were heading to the Big Ten, meaning the conference was adding four of the notable Pac-12 brands. A few weeks later, Cal and Stanford were off to the ACC, leaving Oregon State and Washington State to figure out what was next.

That means the ACC and Big Ten are now coast-to-coast conferences, while the Big 12 stretches from Florida to Arizona. They’re adding new games and new opponents, but Greg Sankey argued the SEC is bringing old rivalries back. That, in return, makes for even more important dates on the calendar.

“We have dates that have meaning, that we understand in this culture,” Sankey said. “They’re passionate about those longtime rivalries passionate about the opportunity to spend a Saturday in their favorite football stadium. Maybe visit a new place or maybe, from time to time, tour all the stadiums in the SEC.”