Sankey on adding to SEC: ‘I’m not a recruiter’

DALLAS — SEC commissioner Greg Sankey reiterated Monday that the league is focused on its 16 members and he is not recruiting any others, in his remarks to open SEC media days.

In the first media days with Texas and Oklahoma as SEC members, Sankey was asked multiple times about the future of the league, and how much he pays attention to the current lawsuits between Florida State, Clemson and the ACC.

Judges in Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina are currently hearing arguments in those cases. Florida State and Clemson have sued challenging the grant of rights; the ACC has sued those schools to defend the conference.

There has been rampant speculation that the SEC could be a landing spot for Florida State and Clemson if both schools leave the ACC.

Sankey said he is aware of what is happening in the ACC, but “We’re 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,” Sankey said. “That attracts interest. It’s done that with the two universities that we have added this year. They’re not the only phone calls I’ve ever had, but I’m not involved in recruitment.

“Our presidents have been clear that I am not going to entangle us in litigation around expansion. So I pay attention, but I’m not engaged in those conversations. 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.”

In his opening statement to kick off SEC media days, Sankey noted that “Sixteen is our today, and 16 is our tomorrow.”

Asked later in his news conference whether tomorrow means staying at 16 for the long term, Sankey said, “Our focus is on our 16 members. I have a responsibility to pay attention, and I’m certainly not going to fuel speculation on what happens next. We can certainly remain at 16 for a long, long time and be incredibly successful.”

The SEC voted to add Texas and Oklahoma in 2021, setting off another wave of realignment in response. The Big Ten added USC and UCLAand then Washington and Oregon as the Pac-12 splintered apart. The Big 12 now includes former Pac-12 members Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado and Utahand the ACC added Stanford, Cal and SMU. The new configurations of all four conferences begin with the start of the 2024 season.

Sankey noted in his remarks that the SEC’s expansion, as opposed to the others, has mitigated its travel footprint.

“We know who we are,” Sankey said. “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.”

Asked whether there would be any feasibility to expanding outside the Southeast, Sankey said, “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. I think that’s incredibly wise and provides remarkable strength.

“I’m not going to guess about what happens next.”