The idea of the South-Eastern Conference, better known as the SEC, operating outside of the NCAA has been a hypothetical reserved for what-ifs and message boards. Now, one of ESPN’s senior journalists has confirmed that the conversation has substance behind it, and as college athletics continue to deal with NIL, revenue sharing, and legal issues, the SEC might be chartering its own course.
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“It’s very real. This is something that has been going on for months because SEC presidents and chancellors have been talking about this since about February when they met in Nashville to talk about options of self-governance if they cannot get federal legislation,” Heather Dinich said on SportsCenter when asked about the possibility of the SEC separating.
“I mean, that’s where the conversations are. And you can look at the Big 12 and the Texas Tech incident with Brendan Sorsby as an example of what this means because… When you’re talking about breaking away from the NCAA, you’re talking about making and enforcing your own rules. In that case, the NCAA wasn’t able to enforce its own rules on gambling. So the SEC and Greg Sankey will tell you, ‘we already do make some of our rules and enforce them.'”
The Sorsby case Dinich referenced involved the NCAA ruling the Texas Tech quarterback permanently ineligible for violating its gambling policies, only for a Texas judge to grant Sorsby a temporary injunction blocking that ruling from being enforced. While the case plays out in court, the NCAA is now appealing. It’s the kind of scenario Dinich pointed to as a preview of what enforcement disputes could look like in a post-NCAA landscape.
The debate of the SEC leaving the NCAA has been confirmed by Sankey, who previously told reporters mentioned that they’ve had “real conversations” on the matter. Yet, it isn’t the preferred option for them.
The entire discussion revolves around the proposed Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan effort spearheaded by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), which looks to regulate player payments, limit the amount of times they can transfer, and restrict coach movement during the season. However, this has not been without pushback.
Despite the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences supporting the legislation, the SEC and the Big 10, the two richest leagues when it comes to decision-making about the College Football Playoff, released a statement saying that they do not support the current version of the bill.
They said that the bill leaves “critical issues unresolved,” and it doesn’t preempt state laws with a federal one. This is one of the biggest touchstones for the NCAA and their conferences, and is important if the bill wishes to draw their support. One notable part of the bill is giving conferences the ability to pool their media rights together, which both the Big 10 and SEC have claimed that would not result in the financial benefit to the same magnitude that its supporters predict.
Greg Sankey outlines SEC’s priorities as Congress weighs college sports legislation
Despite the conversation about the SEC potentially separating from the NCAA, Greg Sankey has reiterated that it is not their first option. Speaking during the SEC media days, the commissioner made it clear that he wants to work with the government to better the Protect College Sports bill, and has submitted “10 commonsense suggestions.”
This includes four key priorities: create national standards which can be enforced, make a framework that prevents states from bypassing these rules, improve transparency, and ensure consistent regulations while preserving independent decision-making.
“We believe changes to the act are necessary to make it most effective, and the changes we’ve suggested are both achievable and reasonable, and we’re committed to working with Congress to move the legislation across the finish line,” Sankey said.
When asked about if the bill needs to adopt all of the suggestions, Sankey was realistic. He described the process as an ongoing negotiation, adding that he thinks all of the suggestions deserve consideration.
“Do you have to bat 1.000? You never give up things in those conversations,” he said. “I think they’re all worth consideration and inclusion. Whether we achieve that or not remains to be seen.”
The bill now heads toward a full Senate floor vote, which Cruz has said he expects to happen in July, before the chamber’s August recess begins. That vote will need 60 votes to clear the Senate, meaning bipartisan support remains essential This will be the clearest signal yet of whether Sankey’s requested changes make it into the final legislation or whether the SEC’s self-governance conversations move from hypothetical to active planning.
