SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey: 'We Don’t Need to Be in Four Time Zones to Generate Interest'

Sankey said that the conference has no plans to expand past the introduction of Texas and Oklahoma in 2024.

Austin Hannon | Aug 8, 2023

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey: 'We Don’t Need to Be in Four Time Zones to Generate Interest' /

If you turn on your phone or your TV at any given point right now, there's a chance another school is heading to a different conference.

Most of the Pac-12 is on its way to the Big Ten. USC, UCLA, Oregon and others will all join the same division as the likes of Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota. None of it makes much sense at all — but it's where we are heading in collegiate athletics.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban gave his thoughts on the current state of realignment on Sunday morning.

"There [are] a lot of traditions that we've had for a long time in college football, and I think we're in a time of evolution for whatever reason," Saban said. "Some of those traditions are going to get pushed by the wayside. It's sad — whether it's good, bad or indifferent for college football. You have to define what is good and bad for college football."

"One thing I'd hope we'd keep in mind in all the choices and decisions we make relative to what we do in college athletics is the student-athlete. They're here to get an education. We try to help them develop careers on and off the field. And hopefully the choices and decisions we make in college athletics in the future will impact them in a positive way. I hope we can keep that as a priority in terms of whatever we decide to do in the future with college football and college athletics."

After meeting with the 14 university presidents, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said that the conference has no plans to expand past the 16 members it will have beginning in 2024 with Texas and Oklahoma.

"We don’t need to be in four time zones to generate interest on the west coast," Sankey said Tuesday on "The Paul Finebaum Show."

"We're very clear that there's not something out there we should be reaching for."

Austin Hannon joined the BamaCentral team in December 2022. He graduated from The University of Alabama with a degree in sports media and brings a ton of journalism experience. Hannon is the former sports editor of The Crimson White, the University's school newspaper. Hannon's coverage focuses primarily on Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball. Contact: cahannon01@gmail.com

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