Tag: Greg Sankey

Brian Kelly discusses need for uniformity in NIL standards

Kelly discussed the impacts that third-party actors and differing state laws have on players profiting off their name, image and likeness.

One of the biggest topics at SEC media days this week — and media days around the country as we prepare for the 2023 season — is name, image and likeness (NIL) licensing standards.

Most notably, stakeholders are concerned with the lack of uniformity in state laws regarding NIL practices. The topic featured heavily in SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s opening press conference in Nashville on Monday, and LSU coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] touched on the topic, as well.

So I think whatever answer I give you there’s going to be holes in it because there is not much regulation,” Kelly said. “I think that the easiest answer to that question — and I’m not going to be political up here — we do want to control what we can control. But I would say that the thing that makes it difficult for us, all of us, is third-party involvement, and at what level does that third-party involvement influence the spirit of name, image and likeness. I think that’s where we’re all at.

“If there are different laws, too, in each state, then the league is not balanced, either. To me, those would be the two kind of bullet points as it relates to NIL. I’m not here to fix it. I’m here to navigate it. If I can lend my experience in any shape or fashion, I will do that. But I can tell you what we’re living, and that’s third-party involvement and different rules of engagement by different states.”

Often, those state laws are written for the benefit of flagship state universities — such as LSU. Still, the lack of uniformity and need for third-party actors, as Kelly mentioned, is certainly playing into the anxiety coaches are feeling.

It’s clear that NIL is here to stay. The question is, how will college sports and state legislators move forward in terms of setting standards and regulations.

That’s a topic weighing heavily on the sport as we approach the season, and these discussions are far from over.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]

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

SEC media days moving to Dallas for 2024

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced Monday that next year’s SEC Media Days will be held July 15-18, 2024 at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.

For the first time in conference history, the SEC media days are headed to Texas.

SEC commissioner [autotag]Greg Sankey[/autotag] announced Monday that next year’s SEC media days will be held July 15-18, 2024 at the Omni Hotel in Dallas. This news comes in anticipation of Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC next season.

Everything is bigger in Texas, and SEC media days next season will be a massive event. Steve Sarkisian will be fielding a lot of questions surrounding his quarterback situation as Arch Manning would be in line to be the starter for the Longhorns next season. That news is enough to draw a lot of viewers.

The LSU Tigers will hope to be entering media days next year as the reigning SEC champions and possible national champions. [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] have a great shot of taking this team all the way but they will have to get through Georgia and Alabama to get there.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Greg Sankey announces 2024 SEC media days dates, location

Commissioner Greg Sankey announces 2024 SEC media days dates and location.

Southeastern Conference media days kicked off Monday at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey kicked off media days speaking on the main stage. Media days will conclude with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and student-athletes Joe Milton III, Omari Thomas and Jacob Warren on Thursday.

Oklahoma and Texas are slated to join the SEC in 2024.

Sankey announced Monday SEC media days will be held July 15-18, 2024 at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

The Vols are slated to play at Oklahoma in 2024. Tennessee’s entire 2024 schedule can be viewed here.

PHOTOS: Josh Heupel wins national championship as Oklahoma’s quarterback

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

Greg Sankey fires back at Big 12 deputy commissioner’s criticism of Oklahoma, Texas

Greg Sankey said that Tim Weiser’s assertions about Oklahoma and Texas were “fiction” on Sunday.

When the SEC media days get underway in Nashville this week, there will be many questions for commissioner [autotag]Greg Sankey[/autotag] about the future of the league with the pending additions of Oklahoma and Texas following the season.

That uncertainty was even more palpable at the Big 12 media days, which took place this past week. One headline-grabbing moment came from the conference’s deputy commissioner, Tim Weiser, who implied the two schools’ reasons for leaving the conference weren’t what they seemed.

Sankey fired back at that criticism on Sunday, calling Weiser’s assertions last week fiction, taking particular umbrage with the idea that the two schools were not equally interested in leaving the Big 12.

“I’m going to be as clear as I can,” Sankey said, per On3. “That’s fiction. Period. That’s fiction. The outreach was from both equitably. It was from the presidential level directly and clearly. And (OU President) Joe Harroz and (UT President) Jay Hartzell were both equally clear about their interest in joining the Southeastern Conference.

“As I recall, they said, ‘We’ve watched how you’ve led’ — which is a compliment to me — ‘and how our group has made decisions and how we’ve functioned, and they want to be a part of that.’ That’s as clear as I can be.”

In particular, Weiser asserted the Longhorns’ decision wasn’t about finances but rather the optics of being in the SEC. He added Oklahoma’s decision was more about following Texas than a desire to leave.

“I continue to maintain that the choice Texas made wasn’t a financial one,” Weiser said last week. “Because we all know what Texas resources are like. I think there was more about affiliating with a group of schools that — on a given Saturday, they would rather get beat by Alabama than they would Kansas State. Or Florida than Iowa State. That, I think, was really what was driving the way they looked out down the road.

“And in Oklahoma’s case, I’m not as convinced that that was the issue for them. I think they were more of what I would call ‘the reluctant bride’ that kind of felt like, ‘Wow, if we don’t go, what happens to the Texas-OU football game? Basketball?’ All the things that we know from an OU and Texas standpoint are really important. So, I kind of felt like if I was in Oklahoma’s case, it would’ve been hard for me not to think about the long term and don’t we want to be affiliated with Texas and now these other schools?”

Wherever the truth lies, it’s unlikely the last time this issue will be litigated in the court of public discourse as the two schools and conferences continue to bicker.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]

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

SEC Commish Greg Sankey gets contract extension

Greg Sankey is cashing in.

One of the most powerful men in college football just agreed to a contract extension. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is locked into his position through 2028.

While the numbers haven’t been announced, one should expect that the extension came with a significant pay raise. Under his watch, the SEC added two major programs to an already loaded conference with the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns set to join in 2024.

The conference also signed a 10-year broadcast deal with ESPN for football and basketball games. Safe to say that Sankey has the SEC heading in the right direction. With the additions of the two newest schools, the SEC is also trying to position itself to get as many spots in the extended playoff as possible.

Since Sankey took over as commissioner in 2015, the conference has claimed six national titles in football which includes four straight. The conference has also claimed five College World Series national championships, including four straight.

Life is good for Greg Sankey and the SEC.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey agrees to contract extension through 2028

The Southeastern Conference and Commissioner Greg Sankey have agreed to a contract extension through 2028.

The Southeastern Conference and Commissioner Greg Sankey have agreed to a contract extension through 2028 on Thursday, according to the press release.

Sankey, who is in his ninth year after becoming the SEC’s eighth commissioner in 2015, will serve a double-digit year tenure if all goes to plan. The SEC did not disclose the terms of the contract extension in its official release.

Sankey helped expand the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams as NCAA Transformation Committee co-chair. Additionally, the conference will expand to add the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners in 2024 and while also finalizing a 10-year broadcast rights agreement with ABC/ESPN for football and basketball broadcasts.

The commissioner expressed gratitude for the support and confidence and said he seeks to sustain the conference’s success and “fulfill our mission to provide our young people with the opportunity to grow academically and challenge themselves through elite competition.”

The University of Alabama and SEC president Stuart Bell credited Sankey in the release for advancing the conference on a national scale and said officials around the league held him in high regard.

The conference brought home eight national titles last season, including the Georgia Bulldogs repeating as College Football Playoff champion and the LSU Tigers winning the women’s basketball and baseball championships. The conference has won 48 total national titles during Sankey’s tenure.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1364]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Texas A&M is reportedly one of five teams that voted in favor of a 9-game SEC schedule in 2024

Texas A&M and five other SEC programs voted for a 9-game SEC schedule in 2024, losing the vote 9-5 on Thursday.

The SEC Spring Meetings commenced after a whole week of pure chaos as all 14 conference program head football coaches and administrators discussed a variety of topics, including the state of the transfer portal, issues about Name, Image, and Likeness initiatives (NIL), and of course, the debate between the 8 or 9-game conference schedule change starting in 2024.

As many of you already know, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey brought the scheduled debate to a vote, which led to nine out of 14 programs voting to implement an 8-game schedule while eliminating divisions at the start 2024 season, the first year that Texas and Oklahoma are set to join the conference.

As the current 8-game schedule features six dedicated conference opponents with two cross-divisional matchups, removing the East and West divisions means that each program will keep one permanent opponent and now play within a 7-game rotating conference schedule each season as it’s presently outlined. Like it or not, Sankey clarified that nothing is set in stone, as the changes will be revisited in 2025.

Now, to the teams who had the guts to vote for a 9-game schedule, which reportedly included Georgia, Florida, LSU, Missouri, and Texas A&M.

The benefits for nine conference games as opposed to eight are simple; preserving three permanent opponents for teams whose famous rivalries may be threatened by the new implementation and six rotating opponents instead of seven, plus potential extra compensation for an additional conference game. In addition, ahead of the College Football Playoff’s expansion to 12 teams in 2024, stacking a resume filled with tough SEC matchups to impress the selection committee at the season’s end becomes even more crucial, again adding to the advantage of one more SEC game.

For Texas A&M, Athletic Director Ross Bjork and head coach Jimbo Fisher openly supported the change to 9-games as Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Florida head coach Billy Napier echoed the same argument that “strength of schedule” concerning the CFB expansion, but as soon as Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC, two more programs will have a vote on the matter. By 2025, the pendulum could easily swing in the other direction.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

Report: SEC decides on 8-game conference schedule for 2024 season

The SEC has made the decision for each team to have an eight-game conference schedule in 2024!

The 2024 college football season will be one that fans from around the country will remember forever. SEC expansion will once again be at the forefront of the college football world when the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns officially join the conference.

One of the biggest questions marks for the Southeastern Conference, as they navigate this new endeavor, is how they manage the conference schedule with the 16-team conference. The debate between an eight or nine-game conference schedule for each team has been discussed ad nauseam and it appears that we finally have our answer, at least as far as the 2024 season is concerned.

It is being reported that the SEC and Commissioner Greg Sankey have decided to go with an eight-game schedule for the 2024 season. Also part of that decision is that the conference will abandon the two divisions within the conference.

The decision comes as the conference holds its annual SEC Spring Meetings from Destin, Florida.

It is also being reported by SEC communications director, Chuck Dunlap, that each team’s conference schedule will be released on June 14 on a special primetime show on the SEC Network. Also, SEC members will be required to play their eight conference opponents and at least one Power Five or major independent opponent.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to monitor the future plans of the SEC as expansion continues to shake up the country’s top conference!

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Stacey Blackwood on Twitter @Blackwood89.

[lawrence-auto-related count=2 category=1134]

The SEC will stick to an 8-game conference schedule in 2024, meaning Texas A&M vs. Texas will potentially resume

With the news, the Lone Star Showdown between Texas A&M and Texas is (potentially) set to resume in 2024, according to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has made headline after headline amid the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, FL, this week. As of Thursday, it has been revealed by multiple sources, including Sankey himself, that the conference will play an 8-game SEC schedule in 2024, the same year that Texas and Oklahoma are set to join the conference that season.

Here’s the catch: the East and West divisions will be eliminated in 2024, featuring one permanent opponent and seven conference opponents in an annual rotation. But, going back to the discussions from all 14 SEC head coaches and administrators this week, a majority seemed to favor a 9-game schedule for 2024 due to its flexibility, monetary advantage, and allure of three permanent arrivals each season.

Now, nothing is permanent, according to Sankey, who stated, “A league at the forefront of college athletics does not stand still,” eluding to a reevaluation in 2025. Out of the 14 programs that received a vote, the belief is that, surprisingly, only five programs, which most likely included Texas A&M (a vocal supporter this week), supported the 9-game change.

Now, concerning the future of the revival of the Lone Star Showdown between Texas A&M and Texas, Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle reported that Sankey will honor “traditional rivalries in 2024”, meaning that the matchup, that has been dormant for nearly 13 seasons is finally, barring any last second changes, set to resume, and will be played in College Station in 2024.

Let’s be clear about this decision and why 8-games was the chosen path in the future; with the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, this has created an issue regarding potential team attrition and player safety related to a 9-game SEC schedule compared to eight, much like the NFL expanding to 17 games in 2021. Now, this is a fair point for every team, but when it comes to any change in the future, financial advantages will always trump any other potential worry, whether we like it or not.

Lastly, the 2024 schedule will be released on June 14, and an answer to if the Lone Star Showdown will finally resume is upon us.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=5]

Latest updates on future SEC scheduling saga

Sankey said discussions continue to progress but no decision has yet been made.

As SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida, continue this week, much of the discussion seems to be centered around hammering out a future scheduling model for when Oklahoma and Texas join the league in 2024.

Some — including commissioner Greg Sankey, it seems — are pushing for an expansion of the conference schedule from eight games to nine, a move several other conferences have already made.

There’s been pushback on that change, though, and it seems no decision has been made yet. On Wednesday, Sankey said those conversations are continuing. He said that if he, the presidents and the athletics directors can reach a “finish line” he’s prepared to announce and explain the decision this week.

“We’ll continue the conversation tomorrow with most of our athletics directors and our presidents,” Sankey said, per On3’s Kaiden Smith. “If we coalesce around a recommendation, we’re prepared to introduce that. As soon as we reach a finish line, I’ll end up announcing, explaining that in a pretty timely manner. Thursday or Friday, you know, sooner the better.

“If we don’t come to an agreement, a conclusion either on short term or long term — and we have options. We don’t have to solve every one of our scheduling format questions for eternity right now. And remember that really in February, we learned of the ability for Oklahoma and Texas to move earlier. I’ve noted some complexities around that, certainly just walking away from 14 nonconference games, or we can go to nine. So that’s part of the conversation. A lot of healthy dialogue. I tend to think we’ll come to resolution on some key elements in the short term, continue talking long term.”

If the league opts to move to nine games, the schedule would likely feature three permanent opponents with the other six rotating. However, an eight-game model would likely on feature one permanent opponent.

In LSU’s case, we may have a decent idea who that opponent would be after Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork seemed to have let it slip this week.

For Sankey’s part, he still seems to think the discussions are progressing in a positive direction.

“I will say from my perspective, it’s been the kind of healthy conversation we ought to have as a conference. Lot of different perspectives. No need to raise the volume but continually, you know, ask the right questions and think about how we schedule our football games,” he said. “Also, how we announce the scheduling of our football games. You saw the NFL just three weeks ago, they make it an event. And last year we announced our schedule in mid-September. We’re already making news in football but a lot of pressure to get it out. So we’re trying to reconfigure that.”

It seems the league is still working through different scheduling possibilities, but it’s possible that LSU and the rest of the SEC members will have a better idea of what future scheduling will look like by the end of the week.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1389]

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