Greg Sankey Named Next SEC Commissioner: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

If the SEC plans on starting a new streak of national championships on the football field after missing out on the last two, it will have to do so under a new commissioner.  

SECSports.com reported Thursday that Greg Sankey was named the new commissioner of the SEC. The presidents and the chancellors of the conference made the decision, and Sankey will be the eighth commissioner in league history.

Sankey is set to succeed Mike Slive, who will retire July 31, 2015. While Slive was commissioner, the conference won seven consecutive national championships on the gridiron from the 2006-12 seasons. The league also helped create the SEC Network with ESPN as a way of televising many of its sports, including football and basketball.

Nick Zeppos, chancellor of Vanderbilt University, commented on the new commissioner, per the SECSports.com report:

"

The institutions of the Southeastern Conference searched for a commissioner who would carry forward the momentum of success enjoyed by the SEC over the last decade while also possessing a vision for change in the modern era of college athletics. Greg Sankey's experience with our institutions, his respect on the national landscape, his understanding of the balance of athletics and academics, and his passion for the welfare of student-athletes make him the perfect leader for the SEC.

"

Sankey was the commissioner of the Southland Conference before he joined the SEC 13 years ago. He was also the director of compliance and academic services at Northwestern State in Louisiana before his term as the head of the Southland and has been the executive associate commissioner and chief operating officer for the SEC since 2012.

Now, Sankey will be in charge of one of the biggest and most prominent and recognizable conferences in the country.