With all the conference realignment over the last year and rampant speculation that we could be heading for an era of superconferences, many have questioned the NCAA’s role in the new world of college football — and particularly, whether its existence is even necessary for leagues like the SEC.
Commissioner [autotag]Greg Sankey[/autotag] discussed that exact question in a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
“I just left a group of legends, former SEC football players we honor this weekend, and the last question out the door was from one of our former players saying, ‘How long are you going to be a part of that?’ There’s a lot of complexities,” he said per On3. “I don’t think you just move football. That’s my view,” Sankey explained. “Because I can’t look — last year we had the highest ranked collegiate in the NBA Draft. The No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the MLB Draft. The No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft. No. 1 NFL pick. You’ve got to look them all in the eye and say, ‘We’re going to give you,’ — oh by the way, we won the Women’s Amateur, the Men’s Amateur, the British Open, you want me to go on? We won nine team championships, the CFP and eight NCAA championships.”
Sankey said he recognizes the importance of figuring out quality solutions for non-football sports and that he also sees the value in trying to work with new NCAA president Charlie Baker, who has served in his role for less than a year.
“With that being said, you have to figure out how to treat your future Olympians in a fair way too. It’d be tough to look the first round MLB pitcher in the eye and say, ‘We can’t do things for you because we’re in the NCAA. Am I asked that question? Yes. But we have to have a National Association. You know, the Association hired a new Executive Director, Charlie Baker, who (used to be a) governor (and now leading) the NCAA,” Sankey said.
“I think he deserves an opportunity to see how we might improve. He and I spoke this morning about some of the key policy issues. Am I asked? Yeah. Do I think about it? I do. Am I asked more frequently now than ever? Certainly. Does that mean we just take the leap? We’re going to give leadership a time to show leadership, and we have to figure it out after we see some direction.”
Only time will tell what the future holds in college football, but it may not include the NCAA’s leadership.
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