SEC Commissioner credits ex-Big East Commissioner for rebuilding SEC basketball
03/27/2025 05:49 PM
We are down to just 16 teams left dancing in March Madness, and the SEC represents nearly half of those teams. The SEC ended up setting a record as they got 14 teams into the NCAA Tournament, and half of those teams found a way to advance to the second weekend. Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Arkansas are all still alive and hoping to make their way into the Elite Eight. There is only one matchup that pits two SEC teams against each other as Kentucky plays Tennessee on Friday.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey recently appeared on the Dan Patrick Show to discuss the resurgence of SEC basketball. The SEC has always been a top conference in football, but it isn’t always this elite in basketball. Sankey gave a lot of credit to former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese.
“We weren't talking about hiring the right people, we weren't talking about facilities, we weren't talking about recruiting,” Sankey said. “The day after that selection Sunday I transitioned away from one advisor and I brought Mike Tranghese in the next day. What Mike did is help us talk about the right things.”
Tranghese was helpful in a lot of ways, and one of the most important things that he did was provide insight on certain coaches when it was time for a team to make a hire.
“The other bonus with Tranghese, and I grew up outside Syracuse, New York to watch the Big East form,” Sankey added. “When Mike said you're good at basketball to the media, you were automatically good at basketball. One of the things he did was he talked to AD's as they were going through the hiring of coaches and not tell them who to hire but talk to them about perhaps who not to hire, and who may not be ready for the stage that we have.”
Whatever the SEC has done in recent years is paying dividends now. The conference has been the best in college basketball this year, and they have the most teams remaining in March Madness. Not only do they have a lot of teams still in it, but five of them are top-three seeds. There is a good chance that an SEC team ends up lifting the trophy on April 7th, and there is also a good chance that the conference sends multiple teams to the Final Four in San Antonio.
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