Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference Greg Sankey speaks during a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Pressed at SEC media days on whether his fiefdom remains the greatest in all the land despite recent results suggesting he’d been dethroned, if not beheaded, Greg Sankey cited metrics supporting his claims of supremacy.
The commissioner’s got numbers.
The Big Ten has trophies.
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If Sankey’s argument gains any traction with the rank and file, it could open up a whole new line of defense for Jerry Jones. Think of the possibilities. Wouldn’t matter what happened in the war room or on the field.
Only how he ran the numbers.
For those of us who have pretty much made a living out of championing trophies as the ultimate arbiter, this sort of thing doesn’t sit well. Violates the premise of what we like about sports in the first place. We can never really know for sure which toilet paper is the softest or, if we’re lucky, which kid mom and dad liked best. But, if Texas beats Oklahoma at the State Fair, that’s that. At least until next year’s round of corny dogs.
Doesn’t matter what happened 20 years ago or 10 years ago or last year, for that matter.
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Sankey likes numbers? Try these: Over the last three years, the Big Ten has won three national titles and gone 4-0 against the SEC in playoff games. Heck, Miami went 2-0 against the SEC (Texas A&M and Ole Miss) in last year’s tournament. Sure, the SEC still leads the Big Ten in College Football Playoff trophies, 6-4. Clemson also owns a couple national titles over the last 10 years, not that it makes the Tigers a favorite this fall. Or any in the near future. College football is in a far different place from the one Dabo Swinney remembers so fondly.
NIL hasn’t exactly turned the old hierarchy on its head, but it’s rattled a few. Texas Tech is as good a bet to win it all as Alabama this fall. Now you know why Nick Saban retired. He could see this coming. Vegas gives Big Ten schools three of the five best odds at a national title.
In fairness, the SEC has five of the top 10, supporting Sankey’s argument. He’s just making the wrong one.
From top to bottom, the SEC is the toughest league. And it only gets tougher this year with each school playing nine conference games instead of eight. Plus, at least one of their non-league foes must be from a power conference. They agreed to this thinking they’d have a 16- or 24-school playoff by now. Another loss wouldn’t hurt as much.
Now SEC schools are stuck with a more treacherous path in an era when the Big Ten has the upper hand and former have-nots such as Tech are on the rise. So Sankey pounds his pulpit. He believes the CFP committee gives too much weight to wins as opposed to quality of competition. A fair point. The committee will, in fact, employ a “record strength” metric this fall.
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Here’s another reason Sankey bangs his drum: The SEC wants to dictate terms for the Protect College Sports Act pushed in the Senate by Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell in a rare demonstration of bipartisan support. Except with the SEC. They’ve offered what Sankey called “10 common-sense suggestions” centered on four key principles: enforceable national standards; a national framework to curb state laws circumventing rules; transparency and accountability; and fair and consistent standards that preserve voluntary decision-making. They also want antitrust and preemption language to address a barrage of lawsuits.
And they want it all now, because if it’s passed as is, there’s no going back to fix it.
So, to sharpen your point, you say things like there’s been “real” conversation about leaving the NCAA and going out on your own.
“There’s a lot of sentiment for breaking away and having your own rules,” Texas’ Steve Sarkisian said earlier this year. “That’s realistic. You’re going to sign up or you don’t, but if you do, here’s our rules. Here’s how this thing is going to work.”
Georgia’s president, Jere Morehead, suggested the same this year. Sankey didn’t do anything to soften the sentiment at media days.
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“I do not believe it is a leverage point,” he said. “I think that’s honest communication.”
Look, I’m down with anything that attempts to throw a net over what’s become of college athletics. If it takes a little arm-twisting, no problem. But if you’re threatening to drop out of the NCAA if you don’t get your way, you’d better be prepared to back up your bluff, because policing your brethren will take more effort than a book of rules and a sworn oath to play nice.
Besides, who’s joining your little exile organization, anyway?
The Big Ten and SEC issued a joint statement this year on concerns with the bill, but, as far as I can tell, no one from the reigning championship league has said a peep about dropping out.
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And if the nation’s premier football conference isn’t on board, what will the posturing of the runner-up make on the rest?
Chances are Sankey knows his league has some work to do if they’re going to try to tell everyone else what’s best for college athletics. Playing that “best league, top to bottom” card won’t do. The Big 12 used to try that, too. The thing is, no one cares how good your bottom half is. Only if the teams up top are winning titles. The last three years, three different Big Ten teams won it all. None of them had to beat an SEC team in the finals.
How do you call yourself the best if you’re not even in the game to decide it?
“If we win,” Sankey told a reporter, “you don’t ask me the question.”
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Exactly. Win, and you’re golden. Otherwise, you’ve created something Argentina could probably get behind.