'We're Focused On Our 16!' Greg Sankey Shuts Down Potential SEC Expansion Rumors

While the Ole Miss Rebels will have to face Texas and Oklahoma in the future, that might be it in terms of conference newcomers.

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Ole Miss football might have a better chance of making the College Football Playoff in 2024 now with the expansion to 12 teams.

So long as Lane Kiffin is running the show in Oxford, expect the Rebels to be a contender for the postseason, especially if the numbers only expand past 14 starting in 2026.

The playoff, initially founded as a four-team private party, will continue to speak of expansion in the coming years amid conference realignment. The Southeastern Conference, at least as long as Greg Sankey is running the show, will not.

Sankey reiterated Monday during SEC Media Days' open presser that the league is focused on its 16 members after the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma on July 1. He's not looking to recruit other programs looking for a new home amid the chaos and lawsuits surrounding the ACC.

"I'm not a recruiter. My job is to make sure we meet the standard of excellence that we have for ourselves on a daily basis," Sankey said. "That attracts interest. It's done that with the two universities that we have added this year. They're not the only phone calls I've ever had, but I'm not involved in recruitment.

"We're focused on our 16."

Sankey was asked multiple times about the current lawsuits surrounding Clemson, Florida State and the ACC. Florida State and Clemson have sued challenging the grant of rights; the ACC has sued those schools to defend the conference's status under its current media rights deal that runs through 2036.

Florida State's lawsuit claims that the length of the current rights deal puts the conference at a "competitive disadvantage" against the two powerhouse conferences. There's also been speculation that in a new 12-team playoff, both the Big 12 and ACC — along with the Group of Five champion — would only receive one representative while the SEC and Big Ten would fill out the rest of the candidates.

Mar 17, 2024; Nashville, TN, USA; SEC commissioner Greg Sankey looks on before the SEC Tournament championship game between the Florida Gators and the Auburn Tigers at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports / Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Should the two programs leave, speculation has been that the SEC would welcome both to create an 18-team super conference, thus matching the Big Ten. From a financial standpoint, it would make sense given the annual revenue brought in by both programs,

Geographically, it would also lay in line with Sankey's "regional footprint" belief. And both ACC schools have long-standing annual rivalries with SEC opponents played to close out the season in Florida and South Carolina, respectively.

Sankey said he's aware of what is happening in the ACC but won't put the SEC in the middle of the affairs surrounding a potential split.

“We can certainly remain at 16 for a long, long time and be incredibly successful,” Sankey said.

Ole Miss, which is coming off its best finish in program history at 11-2, won't have to worry about conference expansion. Instead, focus is on the competition at hand and potential long-term rivals.

Currently, the SEC will adapt to the "one-rival model" for the next two seasons and will rotate opponents to face the Longhorns and Sooners. The Rebels will retain the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving against Mississippi State, but will face seven different programs in 2025, including Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri.

Along with rotating the schedule, the SEC will continue to rotate locations for media days throughout the southeastern region. Sankey announced that media days would be headed back to Atlanta in 2025.

Media days were always held in Hoover, Ala., before being moved for the first time in 2018. Other locations that could eventually host the annual event are Houston and St. Louis, given the SEC’s westward expansion with Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri since 2012.

Lane Kiffin will address the media on Monday at 2:50 p.m. CT. Quarterback Jaxson Dart, receiver Tre Harris and defensive lineman Jared Ivey also will meet with the media following Kiffin's presser.