Just A Minute: Greg Sankey The One to Watch During Critical Juncture of College Sports

The SEC commissioner will have plenty of opportunities to shape the direction the NCAA as attention starts to turn toward the start of the 2022 football season.

Ross Dellenger, the outstanding writer for Sports Illustrated, broke the story on Wednesday that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will meet with U.S. senators on Capitol Hill to ask for more congressional help in dealing the disaster that has college athletics have become under the NCAA. 

What they're looking for, and praying for, is NIL legislation to try and put a cap on the ongoing onslaught that has made everything essentially pay for play. The boosters are predictably running amuck, and out of control. 

They're also concerned about the looming issue of employment status for college athletes.  

Considering the current state of Congress, especially during an election year, the trip has been described as a Hail Mary. Not only is that in regards to the slim chances of success, but those kinds of desperation plays also means that time is about to run out. 

Up next will be suggestions made by the Transformation Committee, a group of high-ranking college leaders charged with overhauling and modernizing NCAA governance. Again per Dellenger, it is considering revolutionary changes some administrators describe as “radical.”

They include (1) eliminating scholarship caps on sports that offer only partial scholarships; (2) abolishing the limitation on the number of coaches per team; (3) expanding direct payments from schools to athletes; (4) reconfiguring the recruiting calendar; and (5) implementing closed periods in the NCAA transfer portal.

Look for all of these issues to be in the spotlight, and much, much more, as conferences begin to gather for their spring meetings.

Of course, the key person to watch is Sankey, for what he says, and just as importantly not says, which can be just as telling. He'll have three opportunities to heavily influence the discussion and perhaps send some warning shots across the NCAA bow. 

The first will be Monday, when he makes an appearance at the annual Southeast Regional Meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, an organization this media outlet is a member.  

Later this month the SEC is scheduled to hold its annual spring meetings in Destin, which attracts journalists from around the nation. 

The third, and most likely opportunity for Sankey to make major headlines will be when opening SEC Media Days in Atlanta in mid-July, the kickoff event for the 2022 football season. It, believe it or not, is only two months away. 

Here's what he won't do: Nothing. 

Greg Sankey and Nick Saban at the CFP Semifinal Cotton Bowl

Greg Sankey is slated to meet with reporters on Monday in Birmingham.

Greg Sankey will open 2022 SEC Media Days on July 18.

Christopher Walsh's commentary Just A Minute appears regularly on BamaCentral.