KSR's SEC Media Days LIVE BLOG: Day 1
SEC Media Days are upon us. We’ve got a loaded slate for Day 1 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park and the College Football Hall of Fame.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey will kick things off at 9:05 a.m. ET, sharing his thoughts on the state of the conference and college football — expect to hear a lot about revenue-sharing. Sankey will be followed by LSU’s Brian Kelly, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin, and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea. You can watch each main room press conference live on the SEC Network or ESPN+.
KSR is in the house. We’ll be providing updates in the live blog below, courtesy of our sponsor for this event, Friends of Coal.
Friends of Coal is dedicated to informing and educating Kentucky citizens about the coal industry and its vital role in the state’s future. We provide a united voice for an industry that has been and remains a critical economic contributor to Kentucky. By working together, we can provide good jobs and benefits for future generations. Coal is RESILIENT, RELIABLE, and AFFORDABLE.
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Diego Pavia is a Star
07/14/2025 03:17:07 PMIn a strange twist of events, Vanderbilt is the most compelling team featured on day one at SEC Media Days. The plucky underdog will have a target on its back next season, and a lot of that is because of their QB, Diego Pavia. Reporters were fighting to get in questions for 20 minutes. That just doesn’t happen with Vanderbilt football. We’ll see how they can follow up last year’s act.
Austin Simmons is going to “Dominate” Kentucky
07/14/2025 01:36:24 PMThat headline sounds much sexier than what was actually said. In fact, Austin Simmons is too well-coached, particularly when it comes to media training. The Ole Miss QB has an interesting story, but boy, does he hold a lot back.
On the heels of Matt Ponatoski’s commitment to Kentucky, I asked him about the burden of being a two-sport athlete and why he decided to quit baseball this spring and just stick with football. “It was just a lot of stress on my arm, so I really wanted to just focus on one instead of both at the same time.”
Riveting.
In an attempt to pull more charisma out of the young quarterback, I asked what he envisioned while daydreaming about his first career SEC start on the road at Kentucky. “Dominating. Every single play, dominating.”
You heard it here first, folks: Austin Simmons guarantees domination of Kentucky.
Diego Pavia wore a tux
07/14/2025 12:19:18 PMDiego Pavia is making the most of his trip to SEC Media Days. He’s sporting a tux with a Vandy satin lining and a chain. Vanderbilt’s 23-year-old star quarterback just wrapped up his segment at the SEC Now desk and, as you might expect, killed it. I hate how much I like this kid.
Brian Kelly: Short King
07/14/2025 09:34:42 AMHe may be able to change his accent, but Brian Kelly can’t change his height. While hunting for something to drink, I ran into the LSU head football coach. I almost didn’t see him. That’s because he’s maybe 5-9. I’m at least a head taller. His vertical challenges might explain his anger issues.
SEC is OUT on Private Equity
07/14/2025 09:03:23 AMSchools need an extra $20 million a year in revenue to pay their student athletes. Finding that money in the early days of the revenue-sharing era has presented challenges. As we’ve seen locally, students, faculty, and staff will be paying more to attend Kentucky games in the future to help increase revenue.
Private equity has been proposed as a solution to this problem, particularly for schools in smaller conferences. You haven’t heard it as much in the SEC because it’s the richest league in college athletics. While Sankey did not completely shut the door on possibilities down the road, he wants the money to stay in the college system, rather than flowing out to private venture capitalists. “We have not seen a concept that works.”
CFP Expansion Stalemate
07/14/2025 08:57:53 AMThe SEC and Big Ten will determine the future of the CFP. They are currently at odds on a format that could be changed in 2026, most likely expanding to 16 teams. A lot of different models have been kicked around. At the Spring Meetings, SEC coaches broke the party line by publicly supporting models presented elsewhere, which complicated things. There hasn’t been significant movement in one direction or another since then.
“We have a 12-team Playoff with five conference champions that can stay if we can’t agree.” Sankey added, “I think there’s this notion that there has to be some magic moment, and something has to happen with expansion and it has to be forced. You’re given authority. You want to be responsible using that authority.”
Schedule Talk: Long-Term Format Coming Soon
07/14/2025 08:46:16 AMWill the SEC go to 9 conference games? Sankey thinks it’s lame for other conferences to take shots at the league’s schedule. He wants the CFP Selection Committee to weigh strength of record more heavily in the process. Judging by his remarks and tone, if they don’t, nine SEC games is off the table.
The SEC is currently on a 2-year scheduling plan. Everything is up in the air for 2026. He did not give a timetable on a final decision, but they need to move soon. If they stay at 8 games, the logistics will be much easier. The next scheduling decision will be a long-term plan, not just a two-year stopgap.
Zakai Zeigler: GET A JOB!
07/14/2025 08:38:38 AMSankey did not directly call out one player by name, but the Zakai Zeiglers and Diego Pavias of the world have struck a chord with the SEC Commissioner. In short, old guys need to get jobs, for two reasons.
First and foremost, the longer old guys stay around into their mid-20s, the worse off it is for high schoolers. They’re taking away opportunities and limiting entry points for them.
Secondly, filing lawsuits for more eligibility leaves it up to the whims of individual judges. They are bypassing the 5-year clock, which has been an evergreen standard. Similar to when NIL laws were being made in different states, it eliminates a set standard and that shouldn’t be the case.
Sankey says the SEC wants to EXPAND the NCAA Tournament
07/14/2025 08:36:05 AMBoo this man! Boooooooooo!
Even though the league got a record amount of teams in the NCAA Tournament, Sankey believes as the college sports world has grown significantly, it’s time to take a look at March Madness.
“In general, we support bracket expansion for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Nothing else in college basketball is static, so tournament expansion is worth exploring. We think there are enough quality teams across the country to merit giving this growth full consideration. To be clear, we support expansion but will be fine if finances, planning, broadcast opportunities, or competitive realities do not justify growth.”
Sankey on the SCORE Act
07/14/2025 08:29:58 AMSankey mentions the introduction of the SCORE Act, the most promising bill thus far when it comes to regulating the changes to college sports.
“We welcome the ongoing dialogue in Washington and continue to support Congressional engagement for the purpose of building a future where education and competition coexist with clarity and fairness. A future where policies are adopted to preserve national competition, national championships and support healthy economic opportunities for student-athletes.”
“Introduction of the SCORE Act is a positive step, but there remains plenty of work to be done, but this bipartisan effort represents an indication that college athletics can produce bipartisan agreement to restore national standards for college athletics.”
SEC presidents want Power Four conference committee
07/14/2025 08:26:17 AMSankey is outlining the MANY issues facing college sports right now: revenue-sharing following the House Settlement, ensuing litigation, the transfer portal, etc. As he put it, “there’s no easy button for dealing with the complexities that we face.” He said that during the SEC spring meetings, the league’s presidents suggested that the four power conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC) form a committee to explore their role in the future of college sports. It would include two presidents from each league and the four commissioners.
Nice tribute to Bob Holt
07/14/2025 08:10:12 AMThis is the first SEC Media Days without Bob Holt, the longtime Arkansas beat writer whose questions were a staple at this event. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey paid tribute to Holt in his opening remarks, and the conference also saved him a spot with an honorary credential and placard where he used to sit, right up front.
“Since we last gathered, we lost Bob Holt from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Bob was often among the first to ask a question each year at this event, and he had a way of asking a question with a smile. That smile did not mean the question was going to be easy, but Bob had a great demeanor, and we have held open his usual seat this week to honor his memory.”
Day 1 Schedule
07/14/2025 07:43:40 AMHere’s the complete schedule for the main room. You can watch each press conference on the SEC Network and ESPN+.
– 9:05 a.m. ET: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey
– 10:25 a.m. ET: LSU — Brian Kelly, WR Chris Hilton JR., QB Garrett Nussmeier, LB Whit Weeks
– 11:45 a.m. ET: South Carolina — Shane Beamer, QB LaNorris Sellers, DB DQ Smith, DT Nick Barrett
– 1:30 p.m. ET: Ole Miss — Lane Kiffin, LB TJ Dottery, WR Cayden Lee, QB Austin Simmons
– 3:20 p.m. ET: Vanderbilt — Clark Lea, ATH Randon Fontenette, DB Martel Hight, QB Diego Pavia
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