The SEC has become synonymous in recent years with its “It Just Means More” slogan.
Fans of teams in the league have an intuitive idea what that means, but commissioner [autotag]Greg Sankey[/autotag] recently took the time to explain it in his own words.
“You know, it began in a creative experience with TRG, our ad firm, as we were trying to create just some spots and a tagline that fit the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said, per On3. “We’d never hit it right. I walked in, and I said what we have doesn’t work, and I was asked, well, what do you think sets the Southeastern Conference apart, and I said, what we do just means more. They asked me to explain that.
“I actually started with our universities and their leadership role in our states over time, remembering the Southeastern Conference was created in the midst of the great depression, the economic, the educational impact, the social, the cultural impact, the sport’s impact, the rallying point that our universities represent in our region. It just struck me as having so much more depth and meaning where there might not have been major league baseball teams or NFL teams, it was a college athletics program, a college football team, a college basketball team, history you hear about college baseball and how our baseball has improved.”
The lack of major professional sports franchises in the south has played a role in growing the SEC’s already massive footprint in the region, but Sankey said the true meaning is even deeper.
It also has to do with the passion fans have for their teams and the iconic atmospheres that define the conference landscape.
“People could touch, they could feel, they could be a part of. When you’re in those moments, the pregame last Saturday, it’s probably my fifth time to be at that game at Auburn, is unlike any other. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. When I talked about walking into Kyle Field at the end of that game between OU and Texas, they announced the score, the roar, and you find the passion around Texas A&M and that rivalry. The first time I walked into an Alabama-Texas A&M game in a brand new Kyle Field as the SEC commissioner and just felt the passion that day,” Sankey said.
“Being in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when they played Texas in 2021 by happenstance just weeks after our announcing our expansion to 16, that’s a special moment and defines it. I could go on and on, to be in the Swamp, to be in Jacksonville, the Ole Miss–Georgia game at night, Sandstorm. I’m proud of what Vandy is doing around their facilities, the sellout string at Kentucky. I was there when Missouri first captured the east division, and that crowd was palpable. I was there in ’13; that’s where I saw a kick six happen; a night game in Baton Rouge, the Egg Bowl that I was at Thursday night. You could just go on and on, and you transfer that to basketball.”
The SEC provides unique college football experiences, and it will only have more to offer in the coming years with Texas and Oklahoma joining the conference in 2024.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Tyler to continue the conversation on Twitter: @TylerNettuno