Sankey new Commissioner

[ricepig]

BREAKING: Greg Sankey named Eighth Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference.

RELEASE:
http://t.co/UwAMK5W5bZ http://t.co/DxXHiJocyz

[jbcarol]

John Talty @JTalty  ·  20 minutes ago

Good read here from @ExcitableBob on new SEC commissioner Greg Sankey: http://goo.gl/fzDhqr

"Greg who?," you may be asking.

Outside of his friends and family, his was a name that, until a few days ago, was probably known only among collegiate athletic insiders, the person sportswriters called when an NCAA compliance issue came up or the conference rep coaches and ADs ran into during one of the SEC's many championship celebrations.

A fitness fanatic, Sankey has run 41 marathons - that's 26.2 miles, a little more than the distance from downtown Birmingham to Alabaster -- and during one stretch, he ran a marathon a month for a year.

[jbcarol]

SEC Sports @SEC  ·  17 hours ago

... Greg Sankey named Eighth Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference.

[Albert Einswine]

So Bama and the old guard have a new shill, huh?

[jbcarol]

Jimmy Dykes @CoachJimmyDykes  ·  Mar 12
The SEC knocks it out of the park as usual selecting Greg Sankey as next Commissioner. Right leader at the right time.

[jbcarol]

 AL.com @aldotcom  ·  4h 4 hours ago

SEC has not discussed moving headquarters from Birmingham, Greg Sankey says http://ow.ly/Ky7Ch 

[jbcarol]

Greg Sankey @gscantweet  ·  Mar 21
Workout update from the road: @IronTribe in John's Creek (GA) with this lovely experience...

[jbcarol]

 Natalie Pierre @Natalie_Pierre  ·  2h 2 hours ago

Greg Sankey's path to one of the most powerful jobs in sports. My story on SEC's 8th commish: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/03/post_665.html ...

[jbcarol]

Greg Sankey @gscantweet  ·  8h 8 hours ago
I appreciate how well @Natalie_Pierre captured our journey. Not easy to explain...even more challenging to write. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/03/post_665.html ...

[jbcarol]

 Brad Wolverton @bradwolverton  ·  Apr 5

What makes Greg Sankey one of the most respected leaders in college sports? I spent a day with him to find out. http://bit.ly/1FaEQki

The son of a welder, he pumped gas to save money for college. He played college baseball and basketball, graduating with a degree in education from the State University of New York College at Cortland. His first job: director of intramurals at Utica College. He later took a position at Northwestern State University, in Louisiana, where his starting salary was $500 a month.

In recent months, he has helped lead the NCAA through a restructuring of its governance system, freeing up the biggest leagues to spend more of what they want on players. As chair of the Division I Committee on Infractions, he is chief arbiter in cases of NCAA rules violations, and he is involved in discussing ways to improve the NCAA's enforcement system.

Many observers say he has an understanding of issues and a way of dealing with people that few leaders have.

"He is really good at seeing things from others' perspective, which is an attribute that many people in our profession don't have," says Britton Banowsky, commissioner of Conference USA, who worked with Mr. Sankey in the early 1990s and serves with him on the infractions committee. "Having Greg in a position of leadership, with his platform from the SEC, is going to be really impactful for all of us in college athletics and higher education."

But critics say that Mr. Sankey's insistence on working within the system will limit his ability to stave off the growing outside pressures...

[jbcarol]

 Brent Zwerneman @BrentZwerneman  ·  21h 21 hours ago

SEC commish select Greg Sankey urges students (& everyone) to "stop staring at your phone. Get to know people around you, not your phone."

SEC commish elect Greg Sankey said SEC will be open to holding championship events in any of league's 11 states -- including Texas.

[jbcarol]

Slive, Sankey finally speak out on satellite camps

NCAA bylaws state that football programs must host camps either on their campus, inside their state or within a 50-mile radius of campus if it happens to be out-of-state. However, there's a loophole that allows coaches to "guest coach" or work another school's camps in-order to get outside that 50-mile radius.

Some conferences allow their programs to utilize that loophole, but the SEC and ACC bylaws prevent their coaches from doing the same.

Franklin
Slive, referencing Penn State coach James Franklin whose staff worked at camps in SEC country last year, joked "We're going to have a camp at Penn State."

Sankey said he intends to raise the issue to the NCAA Division I Leadership Council Football Recruiting Subcommittee.

[jbcarol]

 ESPN SEC @ESPN_SEC  ·  4h 4 hours ago

Alabama's Nick Saban calls satellite camps 'ridiculous' http://es.pn/1HtVHmE

Would know.

[jbcarol]

Mike Slive, Greg Sankey address cost of attendance, athlete behavior, satellite camps

Sankey has purposely waited to unveil his agenda for the year ahead, though he said SEC Media Days would be a time for addressing some of his plans.

"I've been intentionally careful because my approach has been that Mike is still the commissioner and will be, and I'm certainly not inclined to overshadow his next couple of months as we head into (SEC Spring Meetings in) Destin," Sankey said. "There will be a time for me to communicate that specifically."

Q: The SEC's proposal for transparency regarding cost of attendance was defeated. When there are disparities, how much do you see that being an issue?

Slive: We proposed at the NCAA convention that there be transparency and for reasons that still escape me, I don't understand why that didn't pass. We will address that as an issue in Destin, at least within the conference.

Sankey: No one's offered an explanation to me as to the voting outcome in January on the transparency piece. We thought, and still think, that's a very helpful component. We understood the realities that there are cost of attendance differentials on our campus. That's the way the higher education act is informed, and our institutions have had that flexibility over a number of years. Moving forward, we obviously have the requirement that we're going to comply with litigation outcomes as we understand those outcomes, make sure we frame properly the implementation that is consistent with that higher education act. Part of that is clearly the transparency piece that we'll at least have as a conference.

And I wouldn't step away from that still being something to be considered nationally.

[jbcarol]

 Coach Harbaugh @CoachJim4UM  ·  Apr 24

As a Collegial gesture we invite Coaches from Every College to be involved in our football camp. #Compete #ExposureU

[jbcarol]

Shea Dixon @Sheadixon  ·  Apr 24
Only troll job better than Harbaugh's "open camp invitation" for college coaches? If Les responds back to take the keynote speaker slot..

[jbcarol]

 AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  8h 8 hours ago

Auburn AD Jay Jacobs explains why SEC has no interest in creating satellite camps http://ow.ly/Mg8f3

"Camps have been in the past a challenging thing to monitor and keep up with and we've been very successful in our league of doing that so let's don't create a new paradigm for everybody," Jacobs said Tuesday. "Plus our league has done pretty well as far as recruiting goes as it is. It seems to benefit some schools that may be in the past had a history of success and now don't so they're trying to grow their brand a little bit more. For us, we like where we are."

Harbaugh and members of his staff are expected to participate in a football camp scheduled for June 5 at Prattville High, a mere 75 miles from Auburn's campus. The SEC does not allow its coaches to participate in camps outside a 50-mile radius, but coaches -- most notably in the Big Ten -- can go wherever they want and volunteer at camps in an effort to pave recruiting trails in the south.

Malzahn has long wanted the SEC's rule to go national.

"I think the SEC coaches last year made it clear that we'd like it to be that way throughout the country," Malzahn said in March. "That was a stance after our last spring meetings and I still feel the same."

[jbcarol]

ESPN SEC @ESPN_SEC  ·  2h 2 hours ago

SEC commish-select Greg Sankey talks playoff, freshman eligibility and more http://es.pn/1EpqVJn

[jbcarol]

The SEC doesn't need to play it safe: Ron Higgins

The Mountain West Conference might be on to something – it will discuss implementing a deregulated football championship game in 2016 that matches the league's two best teams instead of its division winners.

NCAA rules state a conference is required to have at least 12 teams to play a conference title game. Those teams also must play a round robin within each division.

But if that rule gets de-regulated – and it looks like it will because the Big 12 has just 10 members and isn't eligible to play a league championship game – any conference would be able to decide the criteria to determine the league champion or league championship game participants. They could base it on the league standings, national rankings, which coach eats grass, which uses more hair product or whatever.

In the end, the best two teams playing each other means strength of schedule is maintained and enhanced in the eyes of the College Football Selection committee.

There are some conferences, like the mighty SEC, that believe it doesn't need de-regulation.

After all, the SEC was the first conference to create a football championship game in 1992, when the then-12-team league began matching the Eastern and Western Division champions...

With new commissioner Greg Sankey about to come aboard, it's time for the SEC to shake things up a little.

Proceed with caution but absolutely proceed. The SEC didn't get to where it is today by playing it safe.

The SEC isn't about status quo. It's about status.

Stumps for a 9-game SEC schedule as well.

[jbcarol]

One of the most highly publicized quarterback battles for 2015 reached a conclusion, of sorts, with Everett Golson announcing his decision to transfer from Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility. Golson, with an undergraduate degree in hand, can play immediately in 2015 at another school as long as he enrolls in a graduate program not offered at Notre Dame.

As a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Golson seems like a perfect fit for an SEC school, and there are plenty of teams in the league with uncertain quarterback situations after the conclusion of spring practice. The SEC lifted its ban on graduate transfers last May, but one bylaw from that official league approval could prevent Golson from going to Georgia or South Carolina...

Bylaw 14.1.15.1 requires that the "student-athlete has not been subject to official university or athletics department disciplinary action at any time during enrollment at any previous collegiate institution (excluding limited discipline by a sports team)." In this case, Golson's academic suspension, which kept him out for the entire 2013 season, would keep him from meeting this requirement.

The waiver process requires a "statement from all previous institutions." So now any and all potential SEC suitors must ask for Notre Dame's help -- and commissioner Mike Slive's approval -- to get Golson on campus.

Masoli rule

[jbcarol]

 Edward Aschoff @AschoffESPN  ·  17m 17 minutes ago

It's Monday! What are the new Everett Golson-SEC rumors today?

Edward Aschoff @AschoffESPN  ·  12m 12 minutes ago

#GolsonToSEC haha RT @josh2butler: Greg Sankey to step down as commissioner...Golson tabbed as new leader of SEC

[jbcarol]

 Greg Sankey @gscantweet  ·  14h 14 hours ago

I'm biased, but there have been at least 15 @SportsCenter #SCTopTen in today's @SEC Baseball Tournament games. Glad it's on the @SECNetwork

Wesley Sinor @WesleySinor  ·  11h 11 hours ago

Auburn takes No. 1 spot on @SportsCenter's top 10 plays with this marvelous catch | http://ow.ly/NdJq4 

[jbcarol]

 Adam Rittenberg @ESPNRittenberg  ·  2h 2 hours ago

Good stuff from @CFBHeather on new SEC commissioner @gscantweet, the obvious choice to succeed Mike Slive: http://es.pn/1GtTwjj

"It wasn't just given to him," Slive said.

Sankey knows this better than anyone.

"There were a couple of times in the search when the weight of it, the not knowing, really got me," Sankey said. "Obviously it had been on my mind since mid-October, when Mike's retirement announcement was made. It really became pretty much a focus of my life from January to mid-March, preparing and thinking. There were a couple of late nights where I was like, 'What am I doing?' but that was small. You're always going to have that. Since the announcement, it's been really kind of freeing because I don't have to wonder. I can think about what's really out there. Mike has been great as we look to transition."

Sankey has continued to work alongside Slive, 74, who has maintained his lead role in spite of radiation and chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer. The duo represented the league together last month at the Associated Press Sports Editors' Southeast Region meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. They were together at the recent College Football Playoff spring meetings in Irving, Texas. They will again be the faces of the conference at the SEC's spring meetings next week in Destin, Florida.

When the SEC holds its popular media days in July, though, Sankey will be the one on the official interview rotation.

"Mike Slive, if he's in a room, he's usually the smartest person in the room -- unless Greg Sankey is also in the room," Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin said. "Then it's a tie. ... They're like great chess players in that they don't just see the next move, they see three or four moves ahead. I don't know what that looks like, but I have confidence that Greg does. I have confidence that he can see down the board and know how to position our league and our schools to make sure we're going to be in good shape."

[jbcarol]

Greg Sankey @gscantweet  ·  24h 24 hours ago
And, we have @SEC sunscreen for you!



Greg Sankey @gscantweet  ·  21m 21 minutes ago
Teamwork in the @SEC @VandyBaseball and @GatorZoneBB

[jbcarol]

Ron Higgins @RonHigg  ·  May 23
New SEC commissioner Greg Sankey's exclusive Q and A: Ron Higgins @dandydonlsu  http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2015/05/incoming_sec_commissioner_greg.html ...

Sankey officially takes office Aug. 1 replacing the retiring Mike Slive. But the 50-year-old Auburn, N.Y. native will be front and center at the SEC's annual business meetings that start Tuesday at the Sandestin (Fla.) Beach Hilton.

Q: Is this a seamless transition since you've been in charge of the day-to-day operations for three years?

A: "I know where everyone's office is, I know the issues, I've been in the meetings, but it's still different. The pace has quickened, the level of issues I'm in conversation about is a little bit elevated. It is seamless in many regards, but there is recognition it will be different moving forward.

"One of the things I identified during the interview process was in the Southland Conference, I moved from an associate commissioner into the commissioner's role. I remember recalling that 'I'm not the advisor anymore, the buck stops here.'

"Part of what has happened over the last 12 months is mentally preparing me for that reality."

Q: What three things do you need to be successful as commissioner?

A: "You have to conduct yourself with high levels of confidence and integrity. You have to be able to communicate and relate effectively. And I really do believe there's a need to understand very competitive athletes in the context of higher education."

[jbcarol]

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Tuesday evening: if the satellite camp rule isn't banned, the SEC will be forced to jump in.

Seth Emerson
✔ @SethEmersonAJC

On satellite camps, Greg Sankey says SEC will propose national rule outlawing them. If it doesn't pass, SEC likely to relax its own rule.
6:42 PM - 26 May 2015

The reason the SEC enacted a ban in the first place, of course, is to protect its coaching staffs from themselves. Otherwise LSU, for example, would hold camps in Tuscaloosa, Oxford, College Station, etc. Depending on how the legislation Mike Slive promised Tuesday to present turns out, the SEC may now be forced to jump in.

Elsewhere in league governance, the SEC will require its members to have a conference-supplied independent medical observer at all games on its campuses this fall.

[jbcarol]

Dennis Dodd ‏@dennisdoddcbs May 27

SEC coaches will "fan out" across country if satellite camps aren't banned. News. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/25197713/sec-coaches-will-fan-out-across-the-country-if-satellite-camps-arent-banned ...

[jbcarol]

Seth Emerson ‏@SethEmersonAJC 14m14 minutes ago Miramar Beach, FL

Mike Slive is saying his goodbye right now, as his replacement Greg Sankey looks on.



Mike Slive on if he'd be open to being on the playoff committee: "Absolutely not. And I have too much SEC blood in me (to be impartial.)"

[jbcarol]

Natalie Pierre ‏@Natalie_Pierre 4h4 hours ago

SEC's Greg Sankey era begins on Monday: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/05/mike_slive_steps_down_as_sec_c.html ...

[jbcarol]

Barrett Sallee ‏@BarrettSallee  20h20 hours ago
Sankey on if other conferences will adopt the SEC's "serious misconduct" policy: "We view it as a leadership opportunity."

[Albert Einswine]

Any chance we could let these threads die once there's no longer any poster driven conversation?