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As other conferences scramble to keep their balance in the shifting landscape of college sports, the SEC is content with where things stand.
“I think we are a super-conference,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said on Monday during the conference’s football media days in Nashville. Texas and Oklahoma will join the SEC next year, and that’s where the expansion will conclude — for now.
“We know who we are,” Sankey said. “We’re comfortable as a league. We’re focused on our growth to 16 [teams]. We’ve restored rivalries. We’re geographically contiguous with the right kind of philosophical alignment, and we can stay at that level of super-conference.”
Sankey, 58, recently signed a contract extension through 2028 and may not want to be a part of even more growth, as the SEC competes with the Big Ten — also expanding to 16 teams next year — to be the biggest, baddest conference.
“When you go bigger, there are a whole other set of factors that have to be considered,” Sankey said. “And I’m not sure I’ve seen those teased out, other than in my mind late at night.”
You Can Go Home Again
When the Longhorns and Sooners are welcomed as official members next summer, the SEC announced it will take its media days to Dallas — the city that hosted Texas’ and Oklahoma’s final Big 12 media days this year.
Meanwhile, Sankey confirmed the SEC is working to extend Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s contract to continue hosting its conference title game. When asked if the Tennessee Titans’ new domed stadium would ever be considered as a championship game host, Sankey reiterated that Atlanta is “where our focus is.”
