Greg Sankey appeared on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday and reacted to recent comments on the same show from Notre Dame Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick, when he called recent changes in college sports a “complete disaster.”

Swarbrick also said everybody in the industry needs to take responsibility, and that leaders lost sight of what’s best for the student-athlete.

Sankey, the SEC commissioner, who later said that he has a good relationship and respects Swarbrick, also reiterated the SEC’s philosophy on expansion. Sankey said he values Swarbrick’s perspective.

Sankey also recalled that in a 2015 meeting with SEC presidents, his first as SEC commissioner, he hinted at change coming because of the media rights agreements expiring and being renegotiated in the 2021-23 timeframe.

“I thought his follow-up comment was really important, the observations about shared responsibility about decision making,” Sankey said. “We all look out reality from our perspectives and the Southeastern Conference has made decisions over the last few years, the additions of Oklahoma and Texas, for example, that actually did contemplate the student-athlete experience. Our ability to add 95 miles to our geography, but elevate our competitive experience. Bring in national champions and challenge ourselves.”

Sankey added that college athletics has been historically slow to adapt, and that’s not new with the current regimes and generations of athletes and leaders.

“We now have a set of external pressures that I think are part of Jack’s observation that create the discomfort,” Sankey said. “We have state legislatures making laws and dictating how people run athletic programs. We have interest from Congress, I’m not clear there’s a commitment to help restore a national standard. We have change in the NCAA, I appreciate Charlie Baker, but we’re still dealing with a bureaucracy that is slow to adapt to modern realities.”

Patrick asked Sankey if he talks with Swarbrick about Notre Dame joining the SEC.

“No, I think he’s got a healthy affiliation,” Sankey said. “We talk about the future. … I went up when Georgia played just to see a football game. I was at Notre Dame’s game in Georgia. But I respect the history that Notre Dame has. In fact, Dan, I’m asked even in my own conference meetings, ‘Why does Notre Dame have the role in the CFP,’ for example. I said, you know I think that’s really healthy for college football. You yourself talked about traditions and even though we’re in a time of change and we’ve been a part of that change, we can still honor a number of traditions. So Jack and I have had that conversation certainly.”