College football realignment: SEC commissioner takes subtle shot at Big Ten
College football realignment took another major step this offseason when USC and UCLA announced they would join the Big Ten in 2024.
The word around college football after that move was that the Big Ten was only acting in response to the SEC, which voted to add Oklahoma and Texas the year before.
That definitely appears to be the opinion of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who took a little dig at the Big Ten at the start of SEC Media Days.
“There’s no sense of urgency in our league, no panic in reaction to others’ decisions.” he said of the SEC's recent expansion.
“We know who we are. We are confident in our collective strength and we are uniquely positioned to continue to provide remarkable experiences educationally and athletically, along with world-class support to student athletes.”
Of course, the Big Ten might take issue with that description of their expansion.
SEC Media Days is set to kick off the 2023 college football preseason - USA Today Images
That conference would argue it didn't act with "panic" or "in reaction" to what the SEC did, given that USC and UCLA reportedly approached the Big Ten about joining, not the other way around.
Faced with the prospect of adding the two premier programs in the second-largest media market in the country, the Big Ten had no practical choice but to accept.
But the SEC still believes it got the better of the two deals.
Asked point blank if the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma was better than the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA, Sankey simply said, "Yes."
He then directed attention to how well the SEC has performed on the field lately.
"I'll let you make the comparisons between us and our colleagues in national championship success," Sankey said.
Well, there's no argument there.
SEC teams have won 12 of the last 16 national championships in college football, including the last three in the CFP and five of the eight Playoff series overall.
By adding Texas and Oklahoma to its stable, the SEC put itself in even better position in continue that dominance.
Whether that happens for the Big Ten, time will tell.
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