DALLAS — When heading into SEC Media Days on Monday, former Alabama coach Nick Saban was stopped at the entrance of the Omni Dallas Hotel. He was turned away for forgetting his credential. As a newly minted media member, the legendary coach has never had to wear a credential to participate in the annual preseason festivities.
Needless to say, there’s few better indicators of the new era in college football. Texas and Oklahoma are now officially SEC members as the league balloons to 16 teams. The College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams. Lawyers are working to finalize the House v. NCAA legal settlement, which will formalize revenue sharing between schools and athletes.
Acknowledging the chaos, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey framed his league as a new center of stability amid the storm.
“We know who we are in the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said. “We’re the one conference at this level where the name still means something: the Southeastern part of the United States, where when we expanded, we actually restored historic rivalries while only adding 100 miles to the longest campus-to-campus trip.”
Of course, some may take issue with Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri being labeled “southeastern,” but the point still stands. The SEC isn’t a bicoastal league like the Big Ten or ACC, and it doesn’t cover four time zones like the Big 12.
Furthermore, there’s very little additional value needed. More than half the league has won a national championship in the BCS/CFP era (1998). With Texas and Oklahoma joining the fray, the league has also captured 16 national championships in that span. Heading into this new era, needless to say, the SEC is as strong as ever.
Sankey repeatedly echoed that 16 is the standard for SEC membership, and he…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2024-sec-media-days-greg-sankey-preaches-stability-of-league-as-chaos-reigns-across-college-sports/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2024-07-15 16:23:56
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