Is a potential Texas football takeover of the SEC actually a thing?
Not according to Nick Saban, the greatest coach in that league’s history.
The Longhorns will make their first appearance at SEC media days Wednesday, but they were a hot topic Monday as the conference’s annual gathering kicked off at the Omni Hotel in Dallas.
Saban was asked during the SEC Network’s coverage if the Longhorns were going to run the new league.
More: Texas football enters the SEC with expectations that might be too high | Golden
Run as in dominate football from the jump?
Not happening, Saban said.
“It kind of tickles me about all these people asking all these questions about how Texas always ran the conference they were in,” Saban, a new ESPN studio analyst, said during the SEC Network’s coverage. “They’re not going to run the SEC. There’s a whole lot of arrogant people in a lot of places in the SEC, so you can forget all about that.”
Saban didn’t stutter. That’s predictable, but it was still nice to hear thoughts turned into words. The former Alabama coach’s powerful statement takes on a certain gravitas while also sending the message that the league isn’t just going to roll over because the Horns and Oklahoma Sooners have arrived.
Saban helped built this conference into a mega power, and he is understandably still an advocate. That said, he maintains a healthy amount of respect for the Horns, who beat his Crimson Tide 34-24 in 2023, his final season. It was only the second double-digit home loss in his 17 years in Tuscaloosa, the other a 31-20 decision to eventual 2008 national champion Florida.
“They will be a good team and a great program and (Steve Sarkisian) will do a great job, but (running the conference) is not going to be a problem,” Saban added.
And that, my friends, is why they play the games.
Expansion isn’t over by a long shot
Room to grow: The SEC is a super conference.
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
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Commissioner Greg Sankey was smooth in his assessment of his 16-team league during Monday’s address at SEC media days, but there is movement afoot.
“I’m not a recruiter,” Sankey said. “My job is to make sure we meet a standard of excellence that we have for ourselves on a daily basis. That attracts interest. It’s done with the two universities that we’ve added this year. They’re not the only phone calls I’ve ever had, but I’m not involved in recruitment.”
Adding Texas and Oklahoma was the biggest boss move in league history, but to assume the SEC is staying pat for the next 10 years would be cray talk, especially when there are two other bluebloods out there who make financial and geographical sense when it comes to further expansion.
Clemson and Florida State are suing the ACC in an attempt to break a grant of rights contract and avoid potentially exorbitant exit fees if they leave the league before their agreement expires in 2036. A story in The Athletic reported Florida State lawyers estimated that paying the exit fee and forfeiting its grant of rights to the conference would cost the school $572 million.
In short, they want out because there’s bigger money elsewhere, notably under the new College Football Playoff format where the SEC and the Big Ten are splitting 58% of the revenue generated while the ACC and Big 12 would split 32%.
Sankey is playing it cool, though anyone with a brain knows that athletic departments wanting to secure their financials would walk to the SEC or the Big Ten. Clemson and Florida State make the most geographical sense for the SEC, though the Big 12 also could be interested in adding to a conference that’s lacking football powerhouses these days.
“As I understand, the issue is agreements have been signed and decisions have been made among a conference and the question is, are they going to be honored as they were established,” Sankey said. “And apparently that’s for a court to decide now.”
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Yes, agreements similar to the one Texas and Oklahoma made with the Big 12 nearly 30 years ago before slyly tiptoeing out the back door for a bigger bag.
The three most influential organizations in college football are the SEC, the Big Ten and ESPN/ABC/Disney. Never overlook the power of Sankey, Big Ten commish Tony Petitti and The Mouse, whose oversized fingerprints have been all over the sport since expansion became the quickest avenue to printing more greenbacks.
“We’re the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said, a not-so-subtle reminder to the rest of college football the most powerful conference is in the domination business. “We’re the one conference at this level whose name actually means something.“
So, will they stop at 16 teams?
No way.
Austin American-Statesman
