SEC commissioner touches bases on all fields

Sankey says NCAA image, pay issues far from resolved

Days after canceling the SEC men’s basketball tournament in March, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey turned to a familiar outlet to help deal with stress related to the growing coronavirus outbreak.

Sankey, who’s known for his passion for fitness, developed a new routine.

“My workout gym had closed down and I didn’t put myself on a regular schedule, but I knew I had to,” Sankey said. “I hadn’t done a lot of running in more than a decade. I aggravated my Achilles when I was running a lot of marathons. I finished 41 marathons. The last 10 or so, my Achilles did not appreciate those experiences. So, I started doing workouts differently.

“I get up at 6 in the morning and I’ve been running for the past six or seven weeks now. I’ve gotten up to a level where I can do five or six miles without stopping. That has given me a win every morning.”

In the eight weeks since the NCAA announced it was canceling all winter and spring sports activities, Sankey and his staff have been working to help meet the needs of the conference’s athletes while facing a growing list of questions about how to play football and other sports in the fall.

Sankey said his goal is to see all conferences play football games in the fall.

In addition to football scheduling questions, Sankey spoke to the Orlando Sentinel about a variety of other topics. Here

are highlights of that discussion:

Orlando Sentinel: The NCAA Board of Governors approved a proposal to let athletes earn money off their name, image and likeness in limited situations. What sort of impact could you see it having on collegiate sports?

“The first question is what actually takes effect. You have some state legislation that could make that determination. I look at this working group report as a position that is developed by, relatively speaking, a small group of people who are evaluating different things. We’ll all need to have input as it moves into this legislative solutions phase.

“The reality is, there are partial answers