Talking season has perhaps never been full of more intriguing storylines, and at this week’s SEC Media Days, the idea that the league may eventually opt to separate itself from the NCAA has been a point of contention.
After commissioner Greg Sankey took to the podium and told that reporters that conversations around departing from the NCAA are “real,” many have begun to ponder how serious those claims are.
Of course, arguably the loudest voice in the SEC’s media realm had to provide his take on the matter, as ESPN’s Paul Finebaum attempted to translate Sankey’s true intentions.
“It is not a surprise because the commissioner has signaled this in the past,” Finebaum said. “What I believe he is trying to do is say–for the final time–if we don’t get congressional intervention or help elsewhere, we are going to go out on our own.”
However, Finebaum did encourage the masses to pump the brakes on a fissure happening in the immediate future. He instead labels this as a final call to action from Sankey to the NCAA as a whole.
“I don’t think we’re there yet. I think some of it is posturing, some of it is the fact that the SEC has tremendous leverage and Greg Sankey is the most influential person in that spot,” Finebaum said. “But I think he felt, at this forum and in front of this crowd and media, that this was the time to deliver the final message: ‘Do something or else.'”
When asked about his comments Monday, Sankey cited frustration amongst SEC coaches, players, athletic directors and fans alike as a major reason why he’s begun to ponder this move.
“What I think is important is those comments represent a high level of frustration with the circumstance in which we find ourselves,” Sankey said. “We have regulated ourselves more progressively than other colleagues by choice, across our league. We’ve had different academic eligibility restrictions in the past. So, we have different transfer restrictions in the past.”
Parker is currently the sports editor for Gulf Coast Media in Foley, Alabama. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
