Greg Sankey reveals how Texas, Oklahoma move to the SEC was expedited

The SEC acquired a jolt on Thursday evening when news broke that Texas and Oklahoma would formally be becoming a member of the convention early in 2024. The league had arrange for the Longhorns and Sooners to be a part of for a 12 months now. Still, with a number of motions trying to move the entry up handed, it’s formally set for July 1st, 2024.

Now, with that move in place, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey joined ‘McElroy and Cubelic In the Morning’ to focus on all the ins and outs of the choice. To begin, he stated this was all in a position to occur due to the Big 12’s ‘willingness and ability’ to permit it to occur earlier, which hadn’t at all times been the case.

“This has always been consistent in the observation about the existing relationships between the Big 12 Conference and its members. And our invitation, effective on July 1st, 2025? (It) was predicated on their agreements and the expiration on June 30th of those agreements,” Sankey stated. “Their willingness, ability, and interest to adjust the departure date? It’s what was central to us having the opportunity to move this forward sooner rather than later.”

As everyone knows, the media rights contracts have been at all times the greatest hurdle to conducting this sooner. Expansion appears like the pure subsequent step in faculty athletics when it comes to the leagues. However, offers which have colleges and applications locked in have slowed that course of down.

It had truly brought about Sankey to develop bored with answering the questions on it. Still, he made it clear that the SEC was by no means going to violate any rights contract of the Big 12 simply to get their latest members in any earlier.

“Essentially, you just have to track back on the conversation we had at the time of the announced entry of Texas and Oklahoma. So we’re back to late July 2021,” Sankey stated. “Immediately, I started having to answer questions (because) nobody’s ever announced a membership transition and then waited four years. And I had to explain, repeatedly and frequently, the reason we were on that timeframe is because of the grant of rights agreement that exists. And all these other expansions and membership movements? You didn’t have an immediate grant of rights. So a contract where a university and its athletics program convey the rights for a certain period of time.”

“We knew we had to honor those existing agreements,” added Sankey. “We are not going to interfere with those. That was really the first key. And it’s all about those contracts between the Big 12 and its members. So our preparation was to add and expand after those contracts expire.”

Thanks to the Big 12, the SEC lastly discovered a means to get its latest members a 12 months earlier. With all events now content material, they’ll all put together for his or her respective subtractions or additions a lot earlier than anybody initially anticipated.