Sankey starts with thanks to the city of Nashville (I like Nashville too).
He talks about the college football hall of famers coming up which includes former Mizzou WR Jeremy Maclin.
Mourns the mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville earlier this year. He has some of the quick responders who helped put a stop to the assailant on stage, and the media members in attendance give them a round of applause. A very nice moment.
He mentions something about why neckties are useless (because it was a convo he had with Mike Leach) and both of them are right. Currently, I am not wearing a necktie.
He talks about how well the SEC has done in the College Football Playoff. The only conference with at least one team from the conference in every CFP since its inception. SEC had 62 players drafted in the draft (most). Nine players in the WNBA Draft (most), etc. Plenty of stats on the SEC being superior to the other P5 teams in multiple sports.
He mentions Missouri as one of five teams that experienced a double-digit percentage uptick in fan attendance.
He mentions this is obviously the last season of a 14-game conference with Texas and Oklahoma coming. Last year with divisions also.
This is the last year of a 4-team playoff before it goes to 12 last year.
SEC Media Days will be hosted in Dallas from July 15-18 next year.
Mentions it has been 2 years since NIL has become a thing. He said policies and things in Congress aren't about taking away NIL. He said it's a net positive but that there have been stories of empty commitments and promises, agreements that provided more questions than answers, and more things.
He said student-athletes deserve more. Such as people taking advantage of student-athletes (like people acting like agents to these kids).
He says the states haven't been doing enough and eventually, Congress has to step in to help on this.
He said there's an ongoing effort to have SAs be named employees but he said he's yet to talk to a SA who wants to be deemed as an employee.
"Only Congress can address things that are happening in college athletics."
He said non-partisan issues need non-partisan answers.
He said he and 14 SEC representatives traveled to DC to enact a standard that everyone is playing by the same rules. To help protect SAs from "bad actors."
Wants to provide a certainty that college athletes are still treated like students first.
"It is a primary objective for us to continue providing access to generational opportunity through the experiences, friendships, learning, and development available in the higher education setting, which is a central focus for intercollegiate athletics."
Twelve U.S. national teams have 120 SEC athletes training for 2024 Olympics. At the Tokyo games, SEC had 80 athletes. So, essentially he's saying college athletes and the ones in the SEC are a big part of sports that expand outside of just the sport themselves but to the Olympics.
The reality of sports gambling -- he said he keeps hearing more and more from coaches and athletes about the hate that they receive after people's bets go awry.
He said SEC will have to change and collaborate to find new solutions for its issues. He said he's convinced the best days of the conference remain ahead.
Q&A portion below.
Someone asked about the SEC title game moving to Nashville once their new stadium opens in four years. Sankey said they're going to re-up with Atlanta as the home of the SEC title game.
Someone asked about the feedback on the clock not stopping after first downs. Sankey said in some games you won't even notice it. But he said they did research on this. He said it's an incremental step to keep the game moving along. He said they'll have to be mindful of the outcomes and what other things they can do to improve the game.
Pat Forde asks about a field storming police. Sankey says they will increase fines and the revenue flows to visiting institutions. He said there are expectations around campuses to keep visitors safe.
Discussion about ending divisions started in 2018. Wanted to see if the divisions were fair and balanced. He said when Texas and OU were announced to come to the SEC in '21 there was more talk about fairness and balance. That seems to be the key to eliminating divisions.
He breaks down the eight-game schedule and nine-game schedule and how the fairness and balance thing comes up and keeping up with the rivalries. Obviously, still a work in progress.
Someone asked about super conferences and Sankey said the SEC is already a super conference. He said he was clear last year that he was focused on bringing the league to 16 games. But he said it hasn't been a topic in the SEC about getting higher than 16 at the moment. He said SEC is comfortable at 16, is comfortable with the rivalries, and once you bring more teams there are more things that go into it.
He talks about the college football hall of famers coming up which includes former Mizzou WR Jeremy Maclin.
Mourns the mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville earlier this year. He has some of the quick responders who helped put a stop to the assailant on stage, and the media members in attendance give them a round of applause. A very nice moment.
He mentions something about why neckties are useless (because it was a convo he had with Mike Leach) and both of them are right. Currently, I am not wearing a necktie.
He talks about how well the SEC has done in the College Football Playoff. The only conference with at least one team from the conference in every CFP since its inception. SEC had 62 players drafted in the draft (most). Nine players in the WNBA Draft (most), etc. Plenty of stats on the SEC being superior to the other P5 teams in multiple sports.
He mentions Missouri as one of five teams that experienced a double-digit percentage uptick in fan attendance.
He mentions this is obviously the last season of a 14-game conference with Texas and Oklahoma coming. Last year with divisions also.
This is the last year of a 4-team playoff before it goes to 12 last year.
SEC Media Days will be hosted in Dallas from July 15-18 next year.
Mentions it has been 2 years since NIL has become a thing. He said policies and things in Congress aren't about taking away NIL. He said it's a net positive but that there have been stories of empty commitments and promises, agreements that provided more questions than answers, and more things.
He said student-athletes deserve more. Such as people taking advantage of student-athletes (like people acting like agents to these kids).
He says the states haven't been doing enough and eventually, Congress has to step in to help on this.
He said there's an ongoing effort to have SAs be named employees but he said he's yet to talk to a SA who wants to be deemed as an employee.
"Only Congress can address things that are happening in college athletics."
He said non-partisan issues need non-partisan answers.
He said he and 14 SEC representatives traveled to DC to enact a standard that everyone is playing by the same rules. To help protect SAs from "bad actors."
Wants to provide a certainty that college athletes are still treated like students first.
"It is a primary objective for us to continue providing access to generational opportunity through the experiences, friendships, learning, and development available in the higher education setting, which is a central focus for intercollegiate athletics."
Twelve U.S. national teams have 120 SEC athletes training for 2024 Olympics. At the Tokyo games, SEC had 80 athletes. So, essentially he's saying college athletes and the ones in the SEC are a big part of sports that expand outside of just the sport themselves but to the Olympics.
The reality of sports gambling -- he said he keeps hearing more and more from coaches and athletes about the hate that they receive after people's bets go awry.
He said SEC will have to change and collaborate to find new solutions for its issues. He said he's convinced the best days of the conference remain ahead.
Q&A portion below.
Someone asked about the SEC title game moving to Nashville once their new stadium opens in four years. Sankey said they're going to re-up with Atlanta as the home of the SEC title game.
Someone asked about the feedback on the clock not stopping after first downs. Sankey said in some games you won't even notice it. But he said they did research on this. He said it's an incremental step to keep the game moving along. He said they'll have to be mindful of the outcomes and what other things they can do to improve the game.
Pat Forde asks about a field storming police. Sankey says they will increase fines and the revenue flows to visiting institutions. He said there are expectations around campuses to keep visitors safe.
Discussion about ending divisions started in 2018. Wanted to see if the divisions were fair and balanced. He said when Texas and OU were announced to come to the SEC in '21 there was more talk about fairness and balance. That seems to be the key to eliminating divisions.
He breaks down the eight-game schedule and nine-game schedule and how the fairness and balance thing comes up and keeping up with the rivalries. Obviously, still a work in progress.
Someone asked about super conferences and Sankey said the SEC is already a super conference. He said he was clear last year that he was focused on bringing the league to 16 games. But he said it hasn't been a topic in the SEC about getting higher than 16 at the moment. He said SEC is comfortable at 16, is comfortable with the rivalries, and once you bring more teams there are more things that go into it.
