Editor’s Note: This summer, FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt is interviewing the biggest names in college football as part of his new podcast series, “The Joel Klatt Show: Big Noon Conversations.” The following is an excerpt from Episode 3, featuring SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. You can listen to Episode 1 with Deion Sanders here and Episode 2 with Nick Saban here.
Walk into the SEC Conference headquarters, and you will find a large sign that reads “Problems lead to effort.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey recently joined FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt on his summer podcast series, “The Joel Klatt Show: Big Noon Conversations,” to discuss several problems facing college football in today’s ever-evolving landscape.
One point of discussion was the current college football calendar, which, according to Sankey, has led to some challenging discussions with SEC coaches.
“In talking with coaches since the end of the regular season, there were frustrations that came out,” Sankey said. “We made December miserable for them.”
This past season, the initial signing date for the Division I football period was Dec. 21, while the first transfer portal window opened on Dec. 5 and closed 45 days later on Jan. 18, 2023. Not only did those two periods overlap, but they also marked the time when programs began practice in preparation for postseason bowl games.
That overlap led to a number of issues surrounding roster construction and put an immense amount of stress on coaches.
“The concern we should have long-term is we lose the good people from the game because the good people say, ‘I don’t want to do this,’” Sankey said. “Our coaches’ mental health is challenged in this environment. They make a lot of money, but money doesn’t pay the bills when you’re dealing with some of the points of mental health that this constant pace and constant turmoil can produce.”
The 59-year-old Sankey, who began his professional career as a director of intermural sports at Utica College and has since worked his way up to being one of the most well-respected leaders in college athletics, offered up a solution as it relates to the current college football calendar.
“I would suggest one step is let’s shorten the December portal and allow those decisions to be made for entry over a two-week period of time,” Sankey said. “It will be another learning experience because there isn’t a lot of research on this.”
Sankey believes that such a change would not only alleviate stress on current coaches across the country, but it would also help with some of the unwelcome “offers” that appear to be taking place later on in the portal window.
“What you saw was when the portal opened the day after bowl placement, the first week or two was the exact behavior anticipated,” Sankey said. “A bunch of people who said ‘I either don’t wanna be here, I want more playing time, I didn’t make the right choice, I wanna be closer to home,’ whatever it is, raised their hand and said ‘it’s time to leave.’
“After those two weeks, you saw a lot of stories, where you have influencers, third parties, agents, people we don’t know saying ‘we have a deal for you if you leave.’ That’s not NIL. Some will describe it as bribery. Some will describe it as inducement. That’s not what it’s supposed to be.”
Greg Sankey on NIL and the issues that come with it
Sankey offered up another important point to Klatt on the topic of recent changes throughout college football, this one specifically related to the transfer portal and how it impacts an athlete’s academic options.
“When you transfer, not every credit transfers, and you may not be able to enroll in the program you want to,” Sankey said. “If you go back to those last two weeks, when those whispers are happening, I don’t know of anybody saying, ‘they really helped me understand my academic reality before I made that decision.’ And that is a long-term, life decision.”
Before being named SEC Commissioner in 2015, Sankey spent 13 years working in the conference office as an associate commissioner under Mike Silve, dealing directly with compliance-related issues. That side of college athletics, along with the academic side, is something that he is extremely passionate about.
“Football is always going to be there, and then it is going to evaporate, but what are we going to do with the 97% of college athletes that don’t go pro or don’t have that attachment,” Sankey said. “Are we fostering their lifelong development? I don’t see that being talked about.”
For Sankey, it comes to down to creating a platform for success that will not only benefit student-athletes in the SEC but across the country.
“When I look back,” Sankey said, “I want young people to say ‘I’m glad he led because he impacted me in a positive way.’”
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