Notes: Sankey believes politicians could learn lessons from college sports

DALLAS — Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey opened SEC Football Media Days with his annual state of the league address to media.

Sankey discussed many of the topics facing college athletics today, including his continuing request for Congressional regulations on name, image and likeness as well the ever-shifting conference affiliation landscape.

First, however, Sankey made a compelling argument for the nation to let college athletics be an example during this time of ramped-up political rhetoric. Sankey’s remarks came less than 48 hours after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa. Trump was wounded but not seriously hurt, but a Pennsylvania man was killed and two others injured before a counter-sniper took out the gunman.

“This past Saturday evening, we were reminded of the stress and divisiveness that's present in our nation, well beyond any playing field,” Sankey said. "We know that elections are fundamental in these United States of America, and none of us are expected to all agree on how votes should be cast.

“In fact, probably most of us try to avoid those conversations at family gatherings. We'd rather talk about the weather, talk about how the kids or grandkids are doing in school, where somebody is going on vacation, or maybe who's going to win the game on the upcoming Saturday.

“When you attend one of those games on Saturday and you look around, you see democrats and you see republicans. You see liberals and conservatives. You see those who work in a white collar setting and those who work in a blue collar setting. You see young and old, families and individuals, people from every religious background, every demographic range in this nation.

“This sidebar is not about politics. It's actually about what we do on Saturday, that comfortable point of conversation at those family gatherings. These remarks are about the ability of people to come together even when there are differences.

“On Saturdays in this country, for decade after decade, people come together.

“We actually need more of what we do in college sports. In college sports, and in college football in particular, we know there's an opponent on the field and spread across a stadium there's apparel from the opposing teams, one dominant, one in the minority, but in those stadiums, I've stood with sometimes 100,000 or more to sing the National Anthem, sometimes thinking that the entire stadium is actually participating.

“I've joined in those stadiums as you watch maybe a Chinook helicopter fly over or a B-2 bomber or an F-22, just amazed. Then celebrated a little bit later in the game when during the break we stop and we bring the flight crew onto the field and celebrate them for their service.

"I've heard the absolute silence in a crowd of thousands and thousands of people revved up and ready to go who stand for a moment to honor someone we've lost.

“We actually need more of those unifying moments in this country, and that's why I say, again, we need more of what college football does in this nation, not less. We need more of what college sports does because that unity I talked about and those variances that exist within a crowd aren't just in a football stadium. You see them at baseball games and basketball games and along all of those sports that I cited (earlier Monday).

“In fact, if you drove in on a morning to Hoover, Alabama, to our baseball tournament, you would see tents pitched with university logos and colors of a particular fan base, and it's not long before somebody else starts to trickle in, and I can recall this year seeing a South Carolina tent pitched right as I drove in, and underneath were Vanderbilt fans and Tennessee fans, gathered having a conversation. They're actually smiling despite being dressed differently.

“Under an Auburn tent, Florida fans and Georgia fans gather for those same conversations. That's the reality that we need and the lessons that we can learn through college sports. We need more of those unifying moments, and again I'll say it, we need more of what college football and college sports does and can do because we're at a time filled with uncertainty, and that exists in our culture in a big picture, and it exists in college sports.”

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Sankey addresses expansion rumors: Sankey was asked — repeatedly — about possible further expansion for the SEC. He reiterated — repeatedly — that the league was happy at 16 schools and those were the schools he was focused on. His comments came amid rumors that ACC members Florida State and Clemson are hoping for Big Ten or SEC invites and are willing to listen to the Big 12.

“I pay attention,” Sankey said. "As I said, we're focused on our 16. I've said before at Media Days, 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. 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.

“In fact, as I understand, the issue is agreements have been signed, the decisions have been made among a conference, and the question is are those going to be honored as they were established? And apparently that's for a court to decide now.

“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.”

Pressed on that answer, Sankey was not ambiguous.

“We're focused on our 16, period,” he said. “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. …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.”

SEC not trying to go it alone in college athletics: Sankey was asked about the dichotomy of college administrators trying to control the industry’s future while also seeking Congressional aid in the form of legislation over college athletics. Sankey said he didn’t believe college sports was trying to navigate its future independently.

“The first hurdle that you look back that has to be overcome, and this goes back 30, 40 years, is the system was perceived as working very well,” Sankey said. “Young people came in, they had opportunities. There were certainly problems, things changed, the money changed, societal expectations changed, and adaptation was slow. Part of adaptation was slow is higher education can be slow to adapt, so that's not unique on our campuses. It may be different in society.

“Again, it was also, whether you look back and Monday morning quarterback, right or wrong, the system worked pretty well, provided those Olympians those opportunities, for people who wanted to go pro in sports and those who didn't want to go pro in sports to learn and gain an education. A lot of first-generation points of entry, so those were all seen as valuable.

“When we've walked through conversations, so back to the fall of 2015 with our presidents and chancellors, I probably didn't recognize that there are five fields of play the way I do now, and this is the illustration that I don't think we can do this alone.

“The five fields of play are the sports. We have to be there because of litigation.The second is Congress. We're active in that conversation because you talk about national standards. The third is at the state level. So even in our footprint, could you normalize or standardize state legislation, among our 12 states now, to support that equitable competition our student-athletes are asking to be a part of. The fourth is at the college and campus level, how do we make decisions, and then the fifth is the NCAA.

“Now, if you can create the right kind of linkages between all five, there's a perfect outcome. I can't ignore any of those five. I can't work on four. That doesn't mean all five have to work together to provide a path forward.”