SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Not Worried About Future Conference Expansion

"I'll pay attention to future expansion, but I'm not recruiting," Sankey said in an interview Wednesday.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talks during a press conference before a celebration for OU joining the Southeastern Conference in Norman, Okla., Monday, July 1, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

In terms of adding more schools to the Southeastern Conference, or SEC, it seems that Greg Sankey has closed up shop for now.

Key words there? For now.

The SEC Commissioner gave an interview with SEC Network Wednesday and said that while the SEC wasn't actively pursuing more additions to the conference like Clemson, Notre Dame, or any of what remains of the PAC-12, a time could possibly come for addition in the future.

Sankey and the SEC just finished officially admitting the two Red River Rivalry schools, the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, to the conference earlier this month, expanding the conference to 16 teams. A move that was welcomed by some and criticized by others. But that's really how all this normally goes, right?

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talks during a press conference before a celebration for OU joining the Southeastern Conference in Norman, Okla., Monday, July 1, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

"It varies, you know, it really does vary," Sankey said about the expansion process. "You look when we went from 12 to 14, those were like, quick phone calls following a year of tumult, when the PAC 10 was going to go to 16 in the summer of 2010. A&M, Texas, there was some outreach there. Kind of put all the notebooks on the shelf, and then popped up quickly. And that expansion, with Texas A&M, was from really mid to late July to early September, and there was kind of stops and starts there."

Sankey continued by going in-depth into the many other factors in conference expansion and his duties as commissioner.

"My responsibility is to pay attention, but I also worded that statement to say, 'this is really our focus.'" Sankey said. "Then, in the big room, and I've had it ever since, and in conversations like this, 'Hey, what do you think about expansion? What's going to happen with expansion?' Our focus, literally is on 16... I pay attention, but I'm not recruiting."