Who is SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey? Taking a closer look at the 58-year-old SEC commish, history with the conference, personal life & more

Greg Sankey is the man in charge of the Southeastern Conference, one of the most prestigious and biggest conferences in college sports. He assumed the office, taking over for Mike Slive, in 2015 and his tenure has witnessed the conference’s growth and expansion in influence and stature.

Sankey is from Auburn in New York. He was educated at Le Tourneau College in Longview, Texas, Cayuga Community College. He later attended the State University of New York, where he earned a degree in education in 1987. His rise to the top of the SEC began from a very unlikely place.

His career started at Utica College as the director of intramural sports. He completed a one-year internship at the athletic department of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He was retained as the compliance director there at the completion of his internship. He did this while he also coached the school’s golf teams for a couple of years.

He left Northwestern State to join the Southland Conference in 1992 as a compliance officer. He rose within the conference to become the commissioner in 1996. He was brought in to fix compliance issues at the SEC by Slive in 2002.

Sankey continued in his role until 2015, when he replaced Slive when he retired. During his tenure at the SEC, Greg Sankey has worked assiduously to consolidate the position of the conference while overseeing its growth and expansion further.

Greg Sankey's scorecard as SEC commissioner

With him at the helm of affairs, SEC schools have claimed the last four college football playoff championships. The same goes for the Men’s College World Series, while the last two winners of the NCAA women’s basketball championship are SEC schools.

Sankey played a role in the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams effective from 2024. He also sits as the co-chair of the NCAA’s transformation committee. In recognition of his superb work, the SEC has offered him a contract extension through 2028.

The announcement came Thursday, and details of what he’s expected to earn are not public yet. He is, however, projected to earn way more than his $3.7 million annual income in 2022.

Greg Sankey is a family man. He has been married to his wife, Cathy, for 35 years and together, they have two daughters. The family resides in Birmingham, Alabama. Sankey’s hobbies include running marathons. He has taken part in at least 41 marathons.