SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey discussed a slew of hot-button topics from the college football world during his time at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Tuesday. However, the hottest topic was the controversy surrounding Saturday’s Arkansas-Mississippi State game.
The Hogs held a two-touchdown lead twice but went on to lose, 38-35. What has Arkansas fans up in arms is the school-record amount of penalties called on the Hogs — 18 penalties for 193 yards, a school record for number of flags and penalty yardage. In contrast, Mississippi State was penalized four times for 30 yards.
Sankey was making his second visit to the club, the first being back in 2019. He told club founder and emcee David Bazzel that when he realized his return would fall on the Tuesday after the Arkansas-Mississippi State game, he thought it was good timing. Sankey seemed to be rethinking that thought as he sat on stage Tuesday.
“What could go wrong?” he joked.
When asked about the officiating specifically, Sankey stressed accountability for the officials but also noted how hard a job it is with eight officials watching 22 players on the field, as well as sideline action, and the fact that they have to make quick decisions.
“I respect the officials on the field greatly,” he said.
Sankey said SEC rulemakers should “dig in” on how technology, such as permanently mounted cameras, could be used to make sure officials are being held accountable for their calls consistently.
Before asking about the penalties at Saturday’s game, Bazzel brought up the rash of midseason firings in the SEC and the large buyout sums being paid in recent years.
“[Fans] are seeing these coaches getting fired with huge contracts. Can we ever rein that in?” Bazzel asked.
“It’s challenging to rein it in,” Sankey responded.
He added that there is a lot of pressure when it comes to buy-out numbers, and noted that fans have lost patience with coaches, which has caused more firings.
Photos by DeWaine Duncan
When asking about NIL and player payments, Bazzel quoted what Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek said during his September visit to the club about the unofficial “third lane” that now exists in college sports. Yurachek said Arkansas has been trying to do NIL the right way, but is getting left behind as other schools have decided to blatantly speed because there is essentially no police (MCAA) enforcement.
Sankey agreed with the analogy, but then pointed out that people hate when they get pulled over by the police for speeding, so it’s been hard to set standards. He called for there to be national standards set for college athletics, rather than it being a state-by-state issue.
“Whether we like it or not, the congressional conversation is real,” he said.
Sankey said the transfer portal must be taken into consideration as well when making NIL decisions. He pointed out that some of the main goals of college sports should be legacy, community and educational continuity for student-athletes, which can get lost if players transfer often.
Despite the games’ challenges and unrest from Razorbacks fans, Sankey said he thinks the conference has been making good decisions that reinforce what the SEC is.
“I think we’re in the best space of everybody,” he said.
Bazzel shared a message to Sankey from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
“We didn’t like the calls, and we’ll let him make it up to us when we play LSU,” she wrote.
Sankey thanked club members for their support of college football and said the SEC plans to continue to move forward.
“When we’re wrong, we want to get it right,” he said. “I respect the frustration that exists.”
AY Media Group is a proud media sponsor of the Little Rock Touchdown Club.
READ ALSO: ESPN’s Holly Rowe Shares Broadcasting, Cancer Stories at LRTDC
