SEC football: Greg Sankey leaves door open for realignment

SEC football commissioner Greg Sankey, during an appearance this week on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’, played it close to the vest regarding the next step in conference realignment in an ever-changing college football landscape.

On one hand, Sankey vowed that the SEC will continue to be adaptable as needed, but on the other, he added that ‘people don’t really think through the economics of expansion’ and that ‘You don’t want to just diminish your financial support to current members to just add or achieve a number.’

Truthfully, it doesn’t sound like Sankey knows what the next step will be in all of this. “We are really aware of what is happening around us,” Sankey said. “It’s tough to answer every hypothetical.”

With teams like USC and UCLA changing their travel schedules from up and down the west coast to the Midwest, it’s not hard to see why Sankey is unsure of which school will be the next to jump ship.

Being the next SEC football addition is desirable for schools around the country

As it turns out, there are currently university officials from Power Five programs in other conferences phoning Sankey to keep their name in the mix ‘should anything change’ for Sankey and co. The SEC football commissioner revealed the details of how those calls played out:

"“Last week. It was a, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ It’s different folks: ‘If you ever think about it, keep us in mind.’ Which is a compliment. We are not out on the recruiting trail and we are not looking to beyond 16. There is no some magic number. That’s where I say we are confident and comfortable in the decisions we made so far.”"

While there is no set number for the SEC, there is also no set earnings cap for the conference and its constituents. More Big Ten expansion would undoubtedly lead to Sankey making that Sweet 16 even sweeter.