SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is focused on current members amid grant of rights lawsuits in ACC

More change is coming to college football and college athletics at large. That is inevitable. The Southeastern Conference officially added the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas to the league on July 1. That means 16 full-time members and no more divisions in football. That will take some time for everyone to get used to.

But there is also another storm brewing on the national landscape. The Atlantic Coast Conference will welcome California, SMU, and Stanford to its league this season bumping the full-time members up to 17 universities. That was a move made by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips because his conference needs more revenue and may also be losing its top two football brands shortly.

Clemson and Florida State are in the middle of separate lawsuits attempting to get of the conference’s grant of rights contract. Both universities feel that the revenue disadvantage between them and schools in the SEC and Big Ten is a real problem now and in the future. There is a chance that the Tigers and Seminoles each become college sports free agents sooner rather than later. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark let everyone know that his league is the clear No. 3 conference and has been very open to expansion opportunities.

But what about the SEC?

Commissioner Greg Sankey did not take the bait on Monday at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Dallas after receiving consecutive questions regarding future realignment. The most powerful individual in college athletics is “focused on our 16”.

“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 have added this year,” Sankey said at SEC Media Days. “They’re not the only phone calls I’ve ever had, but I’m not involved in recruitment.”

“The broader implications, obviously if things change, then there’s a new level of uncertainty. 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 issue — that set of issues within the ACC and my colleague Jim Phillips”

The Big Ten sits at 18 teams with Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington joining the conference set in the midwest. The Big 12 is at 16 members with Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah joining a conference set in the Southeast and Great Plains. Add in the ACC’s Western expansion and every conference but the SEC goes from the Eastern time zone to at least the Mountain time zone. The same is not true of the SEC.

“We’re focused on our 16, period. You’ve seen how we’ve made decisions over the last decade-plus for contiguous states to join,” said Sankey. “I think that’s incredibly wise and provides remarkable strength.”

Clemson and Florida State would fit in that footprint. So would North Carolina and Virginia. The SEC is not ready to make another expansion move — at least they aren’t going to admit it in a public forum — but they will certainly be watching what happens in the ACC. The tune can always change.

We are in a new world in college athletics with more change coming sooner rather than later. It is simply unavoidable. Everyone must adapt or die. Recent history tells us the SEC will adapt and become shoppers if that is the best move.