Sankey: I Don't Like Using The Word Trump But OU And UT Are Better Adds than USC and UCLA

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Sankey was asked directly at SEC media days in Atlanta whether the SEC’s two new schools “trumped” what the Big Ten added.

“Yes,” he responded. “I’m not sure we want to use the word ‘trumped’ all the time these days. Got to be careful about that.”

Maintaining the SEC’s traditional geography has been a key point for Sankey.

“This expansion keeps the SEC in contiguous states which supports reasonable geography among like-minded universities and keeps us confident that fan interest will continue to grow in our communities and our region and this country, and literally across the globe,” he said. “There’s no sense of urgency in our league. No panic in reaction to others’ decisions. We know who we are. We are confident in our collective strength.”

The Big Ten, traditionally focused in the midwest, expanded into the Los Angeles market with its new additions. But travel times for USC and UCLA to the conference’s other schools -- including Rutgers and Maryland on its eastern-most flank -- has been a notable concern.

“Our longest trip, I think, is Columbia, South Carolina to Austin, Texas by Google Maps -- about 1,200 miles,” Sankey said on SEC Network. “We’ve got a whole bunch of trips that are about 1,000 to 1,200 miles. Those are all manageable.”

Sankey also noted how Texas and Oklahoma restore rivalries in the SEC with Arkansas, Texas A&M and Missouri.

“I’ve been to dedication of buildings on Arkansas’ campus and heard Jerry Jones and Frank Broyles in 1964, ‘We left as boys and came back from men,’ when they went from Fayetteville to Austin,” Sankey said Monday on SEC Network. “There are traditions that can increase by this expansion and not simply [be taken] away.”

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