'Respectful' SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Discusses OU-Texas Kickoff Times, More

The Southeastern Conference's main man attended his first OU-Texas game and gave an impromptu press briefing before kickoff.

DALLAS — Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey is attending his first Oklahoma-Texas game on Saturday.

His Big 12 Conference counterpart, Brett Yormark, is not.

That was the storyline this week as Sankey announced he would watch the Sooners and Longhorns from the Cotton Bowl suites, while Yormark announced he would be at the Baylor-Texas Tech game.

Before kickoff, Sankey gave an impromptu press briefing and said he was looking forward to his first Red River Rivalry, saying it very much fits with the culture and fabric of the SEC.

Sankey said he lived nearby in Allen, TX, for 11 years, and “drove by with admiration” as OU and Texas played inside the State Fair of Texas, but never stopped by to take in the spectacle.

Sankey said he’s talked with both schools and the SEC’s TV partners about the kickoff time of the OU-Texas game and said he has no personal preference for an 11 a.m. start, a 2:30 p.m. start, or even an evening start.

“We have a tradition around Florida-Georgia … that will be part of OU-Texas … “ he said. “That’s something that’s done with our television partners. … The state fair dynamic is obviously a healthy environment. That’s on our minds as well.”

Sankey, who said he will attend Saturday night’s Alabama-Texas A&M game in College Station., said he spoke with Yormark recently about his decision to attend the Big 12’s highest-profile game of the year.

“I think I mentioned it once before that at some point I’d attend, and I did,” he said. “It was a really cordial conversation. Brett and I have a very healthy relationship. I was in New York a couple weeks ago and ate at his wife’s family’s restaurant two nights. He helped me out there. So I think Brett’s been a full-on gentleman with me.

“I wanted to be respectful in being here and I know he wants to be respectful as well.”

Asked if he was surprised Yormark wasn’t at the league’s biggest game of the year, Sankey declined to dive in.

“I wouldn’t say yes or no,” he said. “That’s a decision we all make. Between he and I, it’s been respectful.”