DESTIN, Fla. – As the SEC spring meetings wrapped up Thursday, Commissioner Greg Sankey acknowledged that while college athletics is in “uncharted waters,” he believes NCAA Division I schools can continue to work together, and that His conference is ready to “take a leadership role” as they all navigate historic change.
The NCAA basketball tournament in March is what holds Division I together, but if it’s going to stay together, “there are pressures that have to be acknowledged,” Sankey said.
“We allowed Division I to grow,” he said. “We have conferences that solve the membership problem by inviting non-Division I members, but we haven’t adjusted the size of the bracket. I think common sense says you have to look at that. There are competitive issues, there are calendar issues, there are economic issues but I think it can Keeping March consistent, that doesn’t mean it will stay exactly the same.
“We also have to recognize the differences that exist within a group seeking a chance to reach the tournament.”
The SEC has formed multiple working groups to help address important issues looming after the House v. NCAA settlement, including one to consider which conference rules may need to be removed or implemented. Another group will delve deeper into the association’s federal legislative efforts, and another will look into oversight and management of the settlement itself.
There is also a group of athletic directors looking at roster structures, which Sankey said needs to move quickly. However, conference leaders agreed that the next major step would be to see a longer settlement filing, part of which would reveal how the plaintiffs plan to distribute historical damages, dating back to 2016. Sources said they expect to learn that before July.
“This is the next step,” Texas President Jay Hartzell said. “We’ll see what their plans are. Not that we’ll shape it, but the public will start to see what happens. It’ll be interesting to see the reactions based on how they plan to spend the money. Money we’ll all be watching.”
Oklahoma President Joe Harroz Jr. said questions about the settlement are “the entire universe right now.”
“When you look at the matter, you find that a lot has changed with the settlement,” he said. “It’s really the idea of making sure you’re on board with the compromise and that we continue to be the conference that leads the country.”
Sankey has reiterated every day this week that crucial answers about how to implement revenue distribution to players on each campus — and how Title IX impacts that — will be part of the process over the next few months. However, in-person meetings the league has held over the past month have helped with conference discussions this week.
“I think we come out of here with the understanding that we are heading into a new chapter, and we will have to manage the transition period, but we are fully prepared and committed across the board at sporting director, president and chancellor level to deal with it.” “A leadership role in this change,” he said.
Sankey said the SEC would continue to work with the Big Ten firms in that role, and said the advisory committee between the two was an “acceptance of leadership responsibility.”
He said they do not currently have any meetings scheduled, but both are keen to discuss their meetings at the end of the year.
“We will have to make independent decisions on a number of fundamental matters,” he said. “We can’t solve every problem together, otherwise you’re bringing up antitrust concerns. … We also have to get people on board, so it’s not like two votes change the world. Certainly two conferences agreeing on things and the right way has influence.”
The SEC on Thursday also announced new payout amounts for any of its teams qualifying for the 12-team playoffs, which begin this fall. Any SEC team that makes it to the first round will receive $3 million, followed by an additional $3.5 million for an appearance in the quarterfinals, $3.75 million for the semifinals, and $4 million for participating in the national championship game. This is in addition to travel expenses. Sankey said those numbers were SEC policy, and each conference could make its own decisions about the payments involved.
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