SEC, Big Ten Leaders Join For Better 'Future Of Sports' - Translation: Move Over NCAA?

The bold moves against the once all-powerful, but quickly weakening NCAA, continue.

The two most powerful conferences in all the land - the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten - announced Friday that they are joining forces "to take a leadership role in developing solutions for a sustainable future of college sports."

The four letters N-C-A-A appeared once in a quote in the six-paragraph joint statement from the SEC and Big Ten offices.

The union comes on the heels of a major lawsuit by the states of Tennessee and Virginia against the NCAA developing over the NCAA's handling of Name, Image & Likeness rules enforcement against the University of Tennessee and other programs.

But that is more of a coincidence. The SEC and Big Ten have been considering this historic arms lock since last spring, an SEC source told OutKick on Friday.

New Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti left his job as the chief operating officer of Major League Baseball last spring. (Photo By Alex Trautwig/Getty Images).

One of the first things Tony Petitti did as the Big Ten's new president last May after leaving his CEO post with Major League Baseball was to meet with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, the source said.

SEC And Big Ten Partnership In The Works For Months

"This has been in the works for several months" the source said.

"The Big Ten and the SEC have substantial investment in the NCAA, and there is no question that the voices of our two conferences are integral to governance and other reform efforts," Petitti said in the statement. "We recognize the similarity in our circumstances, as well as the urgency to address the common challenges we face."

The urgency stems more from recent antitrust lawsuits impacting the NCAA as well as the unsettled and unorganized implementation of NIL pay to athletes and the NCAA transfer portal. NIL and the portal both began in the summer of 2021. The recent lawsuit involving Tennessee did not set this off, the source said.

One case that did was the $4.2 billion lawsuit against the NCAA last November for NIL back pay. 

"There are similar cultural and social impacts on our student-athletes, our institutions, and our communities because of the new collegiate athletics environment," SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. "We do not have predetermined answers to the myriad questions facing us. We do not expect to agree on everything, but enhancing interaction between our conferences will help to focus efforts on common sense solutions."

The joint release said the advisory group will include university presidents, chancellors and athletic directors "to address the significant challenges facing college athletics and the opportunities for betterment of the student-athlete experience."

The release says neither the SEC nor the Big Ten will have any "authority to act independently and will only serve as a consulting body."

That was a very soft sell, considering the financial power and lobbying stroke the Big Ten and SEC carry.

"These challenges, including but not limited to recent court decisions, pending litigation, a patchwork of state laws (concerning NIL), and complex governance proposals, compel the two conferences to take a leadership role," the release said.

"The SEC and Big Ten have never done anything like this together before," the source said.