July 21, 2026
Sankey calls SEC breakaway from NCAA 'very real' at Media Days; Smart says he's long been on board
The SEC commissioner acknowledged league presidents are holding serious conversations about leaving the NCAA if Congress fails to act on college sports legislation.
TAMPA — SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey used the podium at SEC Media Days on Monday to deliver a stark message to Congress and the broader college athletics landscape: the Southeastern Conference is engaged in genuine discussions about breaking away from the NCAA, and those conversations are not merely a bargaining tactic.
Sankey publicly acknowledged that league presidents have been holding what he described as 'real' conversations about leaving the rest of college athletics if Congress does not pass the Protect College Sports Act. While the commissioner insisted the SEC is not using the threat as leverage, the candor of his remarks at a nationally attended media event underscored how seriously the conference is weighing a dramatic structural departure from the current governing model.
Yeah, I've actually been there for a long time.
— Georgia coach Kirby Smart, on the SEC potentially breaking away from the NCAA
Smart: No Surprise on His End
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, one of the most prominent figures in college football, made clear that Sankey's posture is not news to him. Smart indicated he has supported the idea of a separation for an extended period, suggesting the sentiment has been building inside the conference well before it became a headline topic at this week's gathering in Tampa.
The SEC is not the only power conference that has explored the concept. Reports surfaced during the offseason that the SEC and the Big Ten were jointly examining the possibility of breaking away from the NCAA, a pairing that would represent the two most financially powerful conferences in college athletics operating outside the traditional governing structure.
Whether any formal split materializes depends in large part on congressional action. Sankey's remarks frame legislation as the central variable — if lawmakers do not deliver a satisfactory fix to the legal and financial pressures reshaping college sports, the SEC's leadership appears prepared to pursue an independent path. The directness of that message, delivered from the main stage of one of college football's highest-profile summer events, left little ambiguity about where the conference stands.
