Texas, Oklahoma not only teams who wanted SEC in realignment, Greg Sankey says
Will the SEC be expanding again? It’s not out of the realm of possibility. The league’s commissioner addressed the topic Monday during media days.
DALLAS — College football realignment and conference expansion is not slowing down, but the SEC will not be the next league to join the fray — at least not this week — according to commissioner Greg Sankey at SEC Media Days. With Florida State and Clemson currently in legal entanglements with the ACC, those are two programs in the crosshairs of many.
“I pay attention. We are focused on our 16,” Sankey said Monday. “I’ve said before that I am not a recruiter. I’m not going to entangle (the SEC) in litigation.”
Sankey did say Texas and Oklahoma were not the only phone calls he received during this era of college football realignment. Florida State leaving the ACC may be inevitable, but when it happens — and where the Seminoles land — in college football’s realignment era remains a mystery. Chatter hit a fever pitch ahead of media days as the nation’s two recently-expanded superconferences — SEC and Big Ten — prepare for the 2024 season with several bluebloods enhancing their hopes of leaving the rest of the country in the rear view.
This time last summer, Sankey addressed whether his league considered Florida State among future expansion candidates. He made sure his words were well-positioned in welcoming Texas and Oklahoma with the red carpet first before mentioning other, possibly behemoth, additions.
“I have been clear that we are focused on our growth to 16 as we transition Oklahoma and Texas into the conference,” Sankey said at the time. “Further expansion has not been a central topic in the SEC other than regularly updating our campus leadership on national developments. We are proud of the stability the SEC provides our membership and incredibly excited about our future.”
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips vowed to “fight” FSU and Clemson since the two are challenging the league’s legally-binding grant of rights with “damaging lawsuits” ahead of the new season. The Seminoles and Tigers want a bigger piece of the ACC’s annual revenue share and thus far, the league has not budged with that request.
The ACC amended its grant of rights in 2016, extending its media rights deal with ESPN and Disney in conjunction with the launch of the ACC Network. It ties the conference together through 2036. The conference has fallen behind the SEC and Big Ten in annual payouts in the years since, with the ACC handing out roughly $30 million less per year.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said last week there’s no “time to press pause” on conference expansion and is “still open for business” as the next phase of college football realignment could include Florida State and Clemson, should those two schools successfully find a way out of the ACC. First reported by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, the Seminoles and Tigers have had preliminary discussions with the Big 12 on the feasibility of a move, considering the financials would have to work for both.
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