New SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Is Perfect Fit

The search for the next leader of college football's most powerful conference is over, and all it took was a walk down the hall of the SEC office in Birmingham.

Greg Sankey, who currently serves as the Executive Associate Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the conference, will take over for Mike Slive in August after Slive retires, the conference announced in an emailed statement on Thursday.

Sankey commented on his new role within the conference in the statement:

"

The universities of the SEC represent the greatest combination of academic and athletic excellence and I am honored to be selected to follow Mike Slive as commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. The SEC is poised to make a difference in the lives of student-athletes for generations to come.  We must ensure that the lessons they learn from their achievements in competition and in the classroom translate into success in life after college.

"

He's the perfect fit for the SEC and college football.

A native of New York who earned his bachelor's degree at State University of New York College at Courtland and a Master's from Syracuse, Sankey served as the commissioner of the Southland Conference from 1996-2002. 

He's already been received well from the SEC's heavy-hitters, most of whom are gathered in Nashville at the men's basketball tournament.

"Greg Sankey has a wealth of experience in college athletics and has a better knowledge of the NCAA policies and procedures than anyone in our profession," Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs told Bleacher Report. 

Over the last few years in his role with the SEC, he has been at the forefront of many pressing issues in college athletics.

He has served as the vice-chair on the NCAA Division I Legislative Council and been a member of the Division I Committee on Infractions, according to AL.com's Bob Carlton. More recently, he's been leading the charge to promote player welfare, the quest for full cost-of-attendance stipends and the push for autonomy for the Power Five football conferences.

"Anytime we’re in a meeting and the agenda comes up with NCAA issues whether it’s legislation or autonomy discussions, it’s the Greg Sankey show," Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin said in October, according to the Associated Press (via the Marietta Daily Journal). "He’s the guy that walks us through things that a lot of times can be a lot of minutiae."

Cliff Owen/Associated Press

Simply put, he's been groomed for this from Day 1, which is a big reason why Bleacher Report, CBSSports.com and several other outlets had Sankey pegged as Slive's successor from the moment Slive announced his retirement last fall. 

Like Slive, he walks softly but carries a big stick.

He has a firm grasp on the history of college athletics, what needs to be preserved and what could be changed to benefit the student-athlete, the school and the bottom line. He's a visionary who is pragmatic with how he approaches his job.

"He has been a tremendous resource for the SEC member institutions when we have navigated through complex issues on campus and at the conference and national level," Jacobs said. "A man of great integrity, Greg is the most intelligent athletic administrator I know and is the perfect person to lead the Southeastern Conference."

Simply put, Sankey is a "Mike Slive clone" and the right fit to lead the SEC into the new age of college athletics.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.