As SEC Spring Meetings Get Underway, Greg Sankey Bombarded With Questions From Schools About Future

DESTIN, FL- The future of college athletics took a major detour over the last few weeks, as the House vs NCAA settlement came to fruition, and we still have a ways to go. Speaking before the official start of SEC Spring meetings, commissioner Greg Sankey noted that this will be a week of hashing out problems and looking ahead. 

Before the arrival of AD's, administration officials and head coaches for a number of sports, SEC's leading man was peppered with questions about this new era in collegiate sports, and admittedly gave his opinion that there are so many hurdles before revenue sharing begins. 

One of the most important questions regarding the future of sports in his league, Sankey mentioned getting any action regarding congress passing any type of legislation that would help stave off future litigation is unlikely between now and the upcoming election. Simply put, there are too many folks in congress looking out for their future right now, which is understandable. 

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks before the kickoff of spring meetings

The conversation then quickly shifted to how schools in the SEC are going to afford the revenue sharing that will come from this setttlement. Right now, athletic departments across the country are preparing to come up with some type of plan that will help alleviate some of the strain that comes with cutting athletes a check. 

When it comes to collective bargaining, which Greg Sankey says would require the athletes to become employees, the commissioner said he hasn't received a lot of feedback from players that meant this. 

"I've not had a student athlete come to me and say ‘I want to be taxed like an employee’. 

What Else Came From Pre-SEC Conversation With Greg Sankey? 

There is talk of implementing a new ‘availability report’ when it comes to players competing before that actual game begins. This could mean the starting quarterback will be officially ruled out, or the starting pitcher will be announced as not playing, maybe 24 hours before a game is set to begin. 

When it comes to whether or not the SEC will go from an eight-game schedule to a nine-game schedule, i wouldn't look for that to be a hot-button topic discussed in Destin, as the commissioner put it. 

"I don't expect a lot of conversation on football scheduling this week," Greg Sankey noted, as the schedules are done for the next two seasons, and potentially beyond. 

In terms of giving fans a timely opportunity to prepare for a home game, when it comes to traveling and kickoff times, Greg Sankey said that with their new contract with ESPN, this will allow the league to become more flexible. Some of the kickoff times for the first three weeks of the regular season will be announced later this week, along with a few outlier games. 

In terms of one of more interesting moments of the gathering, Sankey was asked for his thoughts on Georgia quarterback Jaden Rashada suing Florida head coach Billy Napier for fraud, stemming from an NIL agreement falling through. 

Even though this will be an interesting subject to ask Kirby Smart and Billy Napier about, commissioner Sankey was quick to throw a one-liner about the situation. 

"Well, I'm not a fan of lawsuits," Sankey quipped when asked his feelings on having a situation like this in today's college athletics. "There's been lawsuits. It's not the only lawsuit involving a coach over the last year. It won't be the last. We have a legal system and people have rights to pursue what they view as grievances and the legal system sorts it out."

Now, Sankey could've easily been lumping in the current litigation ongoing in court rooms that have led us into this new era of sports, but the commissioner made it clear that he hasn't been a fan of this one with Rashada, along with the number of cases that have affected collegiate sports. 

Athletic directors and coaches will certainly have a long list of questions that they need answers to this week, and with the settlement of the House lawsuit still in the process of being finalized, it should make for an interesting week behind closed doors here in Florida.