DALLAS (AP) — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey unofficially opened the league’s first football season as 16-team league Monday in a massive hotel ballroom in North Texas, a new setting for SEC Media Days at a time when everything about college sports seems to be in flux.
“It’s time to update your expectations for what college athletics can be,” Sankey said, kicking off the four-day event.
The powerhouse SEC, which boasts 13 college football national champions since 2006, now includes Texas and Oklahoma. It’s one of many changes going into effect this year in college football, with plenty more to come.
“We as leaders are responsible for navigating what really are for us in college sports uncharted waters of change,” Sankey said.
The 59-year-old commissioner stressed that college sports must find solutions from within while also recognizing external pressures from lawsuits and politicians that complicate the situation.
