SEC Media Days 2026: Commissioner Greg Sankey addresses issues facing college football
TAMPA, Fla. (WAKA) – Action 8 Lace Up Sports is in Tampa, Florida, for SEC Media Days, where SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey addressed many key issues facing college football heading into the season.
The SEC hasn’t won a national championship in college football since Georgia went back-to-back following the 2021 and 2022 seasons, with Alabama capturing the title in 2020 and LSU in 2019. Since those years, the Big Ten has won three straight. Still, Sankey noted that the SEC placed more teams than any other conference in the College Football Playoff, at five.
“While we didn’t achieve the ultimate destination of a national championship, the strength of this conference in football is clear,” he said. “Southeastern Conference football remains the second most-watched sports property in the United States, trailing only the National Football League. We account for just over 40% of the live viewership hours consumed among the four major conferences.
“Our football programs draw an average of 80,000 fans per game. That’s our average number. This was the stat of my summer. That is the highest average attendance for any sport league in the world.”
Sankey spoke about issues facing not just the SEC, but all of college athletics. He said he believes that Congressional action is needed to provide stability to college sports, which has been in flux with NIL and the transfer portal upending the traditions that athletes, schools and fans had been accustomed to.
“Among all the press releases, legislative drafts, committee hearings, and political commentary, that message from our student-athletes to me is the clearest message we have heard. Hold everyone to the same standard.
“We support the effort behind the Protect College Sports Act; however, we believe changes to the act are necessary to make it most effective.
“There are four principles that we believe should guide this legislative effort at this time.
“The first is about those national standards, which must be enforceable. If Congress establishes national rules, individuals and organizations who comply with those rules should not be subject to litigation simply for following the law. Without meaningful legal protections, we risk the continuing cycle of uncertainty that has been part of our challenge in college athletics in recent years.
“Second, the framework should be truly national. The legislation moves us in the right direction, but it should more fully replace the growing patchwork of state laws that are conflicting and create competitive differences based upon state borders. Remember that quote from our student-athletes: we just want to know that others are held to the same standards.
“Third, transparency and accountability are essential. Rules governing name, image and likeness are only effective if they can be enforced. That requires meaningful transparency so everyone operates under the same expectations and the same level of accountability. Without it, loopholes undermine that competitive fairness expectation.
“Fourth and finally, the legislation should treat similarly situated organizations equally while preserving institutional choice. Whether discussing conference structure or media rights, federal law should establish fair and consistent standards, not different rules for different organizations. They should preserve the voluntary decision-making rather than mandating outcomes.”
Another issue Sankey discussed was the possible expansion of the current 12-team College Football Playoff, possibly to 16 or even 24 teams.
“Some of those important questions that remain for us is how do we preserve and build the value of the regular season. That is a judgment-based answer that we continue to consider and research.
“We also need to know what is the actual interest from fans and from media entities in an expanded College Football Playoff. How do we respect the academic calendar and respect the well-being of our student-athletes?
“When we went from four to 12, those questions were answered during the consideration process. How do we create a post-season that rewards excellence while strengthening the long-term future of the sport and providing post-season competitive opportunities that are meaningful?”
Sankey acknowledged the questions surrounding the future of conference championship games if the playoffs expanded to include more teams, and more weeks, of games. He said that we do need to bring this conversation to conclusion in short order so we can move on and focus on the future of the game.
When asked whether the SEC might consider breaking away from the NCAA and whether those talks are real, Sankey said:
“So they’re real. People have talked about that. They’ve opined about the frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different. I do not believe that is a leverage point. I think that’s just honest communication. I would prefer that stay in a meeting room or on a videoconference, not be part of the D1.ticker the next morning, but I don’t control all of that.”
Watch the video above to hear more from Commissioner Sankey and from Action 8 Sports Analyst John Longshore who shares his reaction to Sankey’s address to the media.
— Information from SEC Sports
