In a chaotic few weeks for college football, the SEC has been notoriously quiet.
We’ve witnessed the likely collapse of the Pac-12 with Oregon and Washington heading to the Big Ten and Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah all jumping ship for the Big 12.
The wave of conference realignment that began with the SEC adding Oklahoma and Texas has caused a massive butterfly effect in the sport. And with a lot of programs feeling anxiety, could the SEC look to expand again?
ACC teams in particular have been rumored candidates, with schools like Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and Virginia all being in the discussion. However, in an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey did not seem particularly keen to expand beyond 16 teams.
“I’m not a recruiter,” Sankey said per On3. “I’ve said that repeatedly. We have a responsibility to look, from an interest standpoint, at what’s happening around us. What we did last week behind the scenes was have different types of daily communication with our campuses to say ‘Here’s what we understand is taking place.’ At the end of the week, we concluded with a video conference of our presidents and chancellors. For me, speaking today on their behalf, really strong alignment with that group.
“Very clear that there’s not something out there that we should be reaching for or engaging in… The focus is on the Southeastern Conference. How we build upon our strength, how we prepare for the year that is ahead. We’re going to be starting soccer here in the matter of days and football in the matter of weeks. And then go look at our future when we grow to 16.”
Only time will tell if the SEC ultimately sits tight at 16 or looks to expand again once the dust settles, but it’s clear that Sankey doesn’t feel like the league needs to move quickly at this time.
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