Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott.
Could the SEC break away from the NCAA and form its own, entirely independent college sports league? Commissioner Greg Sankey sure seems to think so.
Sankey, speaking to members of the press during Monday’s opening day of SEC Media Days, says that the league is serious about the threat of forming its own league for college athletics should Congress pass the Protect College Sports Act.
The proposed bill is aimed at reining in spending in college athletics and also putting some sort of actual guardrails in place as the NCAA seemingly loses more and more of its power to actually enforce its rules with each passing week.
It already has the support of legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban.
“But I think it’s a race to the bottom because if you don’t spend to win, you lose your fanbase, and you don’t have any revenue. So, how do you manage the other sports?” Saban asked while testifying in front of the Senate in June.
Sankey, however, doesn’t see things the same way.
Greg Sankey Doesn’t Want SEC Athletic Programs To Have To Follow Rules
The reality of the matter is that SEC schools, like others, have spent years trying to give themselves built-in advantages, whether it’s via significant financial investments or state laws favoring local universities.
Sankey now doesn’t want to see his member schools at risk of losing those advantages.
“People have talked about that,” Sankey said of forming a separate college sports league. “The frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different. I do not believe that is a leverage point. I think that’s honest communication.”
To his credit, Sankey says the league has worked with Congress to try and alter the Protect College Sports Act. He stated that the SEC has offered “10 commonsense suggestions” that center on four key principles — national standards that must be enforceable; a national framework to limit state laws that are meant to circumvent rules; transparency and accountability; and establishing fair and consistent standards for organizations while preserving voluntary decision-making.
It’s kind of hard to see the last point squares with the first point, but he seems to believe there’s a way!
“We believe changes to the act are necessary to make it most effective, and the changes we’ve suggested are both achievable and reasonable, and we’re committed to working with Congress to move the legislation across the finish line,” Sankey said.
And if those changes don’t get made, the SEC sounds perfectly happy to take its ball and go home…