One of the things I dread the most in this world is buying a vehicle from a car dealership. You spend hours looking at a vehicle, waiting, and listening to some schmuck sell you on an overpriced vehicle that’s entire purpose is to get you from point A to B.
No matter what your budget is, the slick suit on the other side of the desk will always make you feel comfortable and make you think that you can afford that car. Even if it is $15,000 out of your price range and you have to finance it with them for a decade, they will tell you just about anything to get you to sign on the dotted line and drive off the lot on some new wheels.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve gotten that same “used car salesman” vibe from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. Last week at SEC Media Days, Sankey repeatedly said, “We’re focused on our 16,” when asked about the possibility of expansion. He even went as far as to say that “16 is our today, and 16 is our tomorrow.”
Then, on Tuesday, Petitti had this to say about the possibility of adding schools in the near future.
“We’re focused on the 18 right now. That’s what we’re focused on. We had to do a lot of work. You know, a lot of work had been done to integrate USC and UCLA, and we started that work over immediately when we added Oregon and Washington. So, I think we’re really comfortable where we are. We’ve got to get this conference right, and that’s what our focus is.”
Naturally, neither conference commissioner is going to offer up expansion plans publically, especially with ongoing lawsuits in the ACC and Florida State and Clemson hanging in the balance.
But, if you look at recent history, it seems pretty obvious where this is all headed, right? Three years ago, Texas and Oklahoma — who were still members of the Big 12 — were having closed-door discussions with the SEC. Now, Sankey gets up on his pedestal to preach about his concerns in college athletics. Did that man give a damn about the “greater good” of college athletics when he was courting Texas and Oklahoma? Nope.
While former Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren was the one to bring in USC and UCLA, it was Tony Petitti who brought in Washington and Oregon.
That decision came after a couple of months of denial from folks inside the Big Ten.When push comes to shove, these commissioners are going to do whatever it takes to make their conferences stronger, even if it hurts others.Am I to sit here and believe that brands like Florida State and Clemson are going to become available and the Big Ten and SEC are going to turn a blind eye?
Perhaps Sankey and Petitti are playing the long game here, pretending to be uninterested until one of them strikes at the most opportune moment. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked to see more reports of how “disruptive” Florida State is in order to drive the market price down on their exit from the ACC.
But the reports about this conference or that conference “not having interest” in adding schools like Clemson or Florida State? Yeah, those are, well, you know.
My advice? Treat these guys like Rick — the used car salesman at the dealership up the road. He says he can’t lower the price and that his manager isn’t interested in your surprise trade-in right now. Just wait — His tune will change before you’re ready to take your business to another lot.
This is the world of college football, and nowadays, the narratives don’t change by the month, week, or even day. They change by the hour.
