While we may just be in middle of July, the college football world has already unofficially kicked off. The SEC got the party started when the league opened up its annual Media Days in Hoover, Alabama. Over the last several years, as the SEC has risen to the top of the college football world, the three day meetings have become a must see event not only media members, but fans as well. But for the first time in thirteen years, the SEC Media Days were opened by someone other than now retired commissioner Mike Slive.
New commissioner Greg Sankey, who officially took over on June 1, gave the opening remarks. The SEC boss touched on a few key issues regarding the league, college athletics as a whole and even found a way to insert a Bob Dylan quote. Yes, Mr. Commissioner, “The times, they are achangin’.”
Scholars, Champions, and Leaders
Sankey laid out three simple goals for the SEC that are far easier to state than to accomplish. First, graduate every student-athlete. Next, Sankey wants to win every championship, in every sport, every year and finally perhaps the biggest challenge, Sankey wants to influence the world. He quickly reminded the crowd that while the goals would not be easy to accomplish and that nothing great was ever accomplished without shooting for the stars by saying “there is no great achievement that was ever produced by an attempt to be average, and we seek to be excellent.”
After highlighting the three main visions he has for the league, Sankey went on to touch on the SEC Network, the leagues television partnership with CBS and original programming that the network has become famous for. To close his speech, the new commissioner hit on a subject that has been in the forefront of sporting news recently; player conduct.
Commissioner Sankey announced that in May, league members started to establish conduct expectations that would be required of student-athletes looking to transfer into the SEC. The conference will also have two working groups, which later on this summer will begin to review the leagues current conduct issues and overall policies. One group work will specifically focus on looking at current existing campus policies, as well as conduct polices from outside of SEC member institutions. Once the groups have studied the existing policies and practices, the conference will then look to put in place a set of expectations regarding student-athlete conduct. The second group will focus on compliance and enforcement of rules.
The commissioner noted how the SEC is a unique place and that the league has the ability and opportunity to lead the nation as a majority of conferences review their individual conduct policies.
While the new commissioner touched on wanting to continue the conferences winning ways, it was refreshing to hear him zero in on the importance of fixing the current compliance and conduct issues that currently plague the collegiate landscape. It will be interesting to see if other Power Five commissioners echo Sankey’s thoughts.
The ACC and Big XII will each host Media Days July 20 and 21, with the Big Ten and PAC 12 hosting their annual events July 30 and 31.
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