SEC commissioner Greg Sankey’s comments at SEC Media Days set off a fresh round of speculation about whether the league could eventually break away from the NCAA, and ESPN’s Paul Finebaum thinks the message was meant to land as a warning more than a prediction.
Sankey told reporters that conversations about leaving the NCAA are “real,” and Finebaum said that should not come as a shock. In his view, Sankey has been signaling this possibility for some time.
“It is not a surprise because the commissioner has signaled this in the past,” Finebaum said. “What I believe he is trying to do is say-for the final time-if we don’t get congressional intervention or help elsewhere, we are going to go out on our own.”
Still, Finebaum stopped short of suggesting a split is around the corner. He framed Sankey’s remarks as pressure being applied to the NCAA rather than a move already in motion.
“I don’t think we’re there yet. I think some of it is posturing, some of it is the fact that the SEC has tremendous leverage and Greg Sankey is the most influential person in that spot,” Finebaum said. “But I think he felt, at this forum and in front of this crowd and media, that this was the time to deliver the final message: ‘Do something or else.'”
Sankey addressed the issue again Monday, saying frustration across the league has pushed the conversation forward. He pointed to coaches, players, athletic directors and fans as part of the reason the idea is being discussed more openly.
“What I think is important is those comments represent a high level of frustration with the circumstance in which we find ourselves,” Sankey said. “We have regulated ourselves more progressively than other colleagues by choice, across our league.
We’ve had different academic eligibility restrictions in the past. So, we have different transfer restrictions in the past.”
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