‘It Just Means More’ | At Media Days Commissioner Greg Sankey Offers Thoughts on Expanded SEC, Remains Focused on 16-Team League
by Steve Barnes | Jul 15, 2024 | Football, SEC Media Days |
DALLAS – “It just means more.”
That is the motto of the Southeastern Conference. Commissioner Greg Sankey reiterated that Monday in his opening remarks at SEC Media Days. As divisive as our society can be – Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State, Auburn vs. Alabama, Florida vs. Georgia, the league is now 16 teams with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma.
As much as there are 16 teams in the SEC, Sankey made a point to illustrate as different as each team is, it is still one conference and one mindset.
“When you attend one of those games on Saturday and you look around, you see Democrats and you see Republicans,” Sankey said. “You see liberals and conservatives. You see those who work in a white collar setting and those who work in a blue collar setting. You see young and old, families and individuals, people from every religious background, every demographic range in this nation.”
Sankey also referenced the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
“This past Saturday evening, we were reminded of the stress and divisiveness that’s present in our nation, well beyond any playing field,” Sankey said. “We know that elections are fundamental in these United States of America, and none of us are expected to all agree on how votes should be cast.
“In fact, probably most of us try to avoid those conversations at family gatherings. We’d rather talk about the weather, talk about how the kids or grandkids are doing in school, where somebody is going on vacation, or maybe who’s going to win the game on the upcoming Saturday.”
Those Saturdays will begin in six weeks.
There will be Ole Miss fans, Mississippi State fans, LSU fans and others.
There will be 16 teams, but there will be one conference.
Sankey was right at the beginning. It just means more.
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Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
