Greg Sankey admits some member schools want to break away from NCAA, explains why he is opposed
By Jacob Moss
Published:
College sports have undergone some pretty drastic changes over the past several years, with everything from the advent of NIL to major conference realignment completely altering the NCAA landscape.
The fallout from these wholesale changes has led many prominent schools in the SEC and beyond to begin questioning whether they even need the NCAA anymore, and whether it would be better for them in the long term to break away from the institution that has governed college athletics for well over a century.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey touched on this very subject on Monday when he called into the Paul Finebaum show. While he admitted that some SEC member schools have expressed an interest in breaking away from the NCAA, he also expressed his opposition to the proposal.
“I’ve acknowledged there are those who have said we should go our own way,” Sankey said. ” I don’t think that’s the right decision. We have relationships and responsibilities within Division I.”
Sankey also expressed that, while the NCAA has its problems that need to be sorted out, he believes the best course of action is for the SEC and the other power conferences to come together and find a solution together before venturing out on their own.
“I think, properly, that’s where our focus should be. How do we work with colleagues to solve problems? Can we do that collectively?” Sankey said. “If there’s a point at which we cannot do so, I think the conversation that informs the question that you ask, ‘Is there something you’d do alone?’ I think that that starts to generate more and more interest. But right now, I think for the medium term, we’re certainly focused on, how do we keep the opportunities connected in Division I, while still (focusing on), how do we make decisions that are effective for those of us, particularly in the four (power) conferences.”
The SEC tournament is right around the corner. Here’s a look at the top odds to win the tournament, per Kalshi:
