Underachieving SEC hires former Big East commish as advisor
If you look at the conference breakdown of this year’s NCAA tournament field, one power five conference is underrepresented compared to its peers.
The SEC has just three members competing this year: Texas A&M, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, which faces Wichita State in a Tuesday night First Four matchup. That total falls well behind the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 (seven apiece) and even leagues like the Big East (5) and AAC (4). Suffice to say, the league is underachieving, so commissioner Greg Sankey is bringing in help to make the league – a football powerhouse – more relevant in basketball.
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Sankey announced Tuesday that the SEC has hired Mike Tranghese as “Special Advisor to the Commissioner for Men’s Basketball.” Tranghese was the longtime commissioner of the Big East during its hoops heyday before retiring in 2009. He has also served as a member of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for many years.
"Men's basketball in the SEC gained positive momentum during the last 12 months, but we are not meeting our own expectations," Sankey said in a release. "As a conference, we seek continuing improvement in the national competitive success of our men's basketball programs.”
The positive momentum Sankey is alluding to includes the hiring of several prominent head coaches with Rick Barnes (Tennessee), Ben Howland (Mississippi State) and Avery Johnson (Alabama) all joining the conference. Former commissioner Mike Slive previously brought in “NCAA tournament guru” Greg Shaheen as a scheduling consultant. The hiring of Tranghese seems to be another worthwhile addition.
The SEC’s release says Tranghese will “provide advice and consultation” to Sankey and other league officials “for the purpose of enhancing the overall quality of men’s basketball competition in the SEC.” Tranghese will also “work collaboratively with the SEC Office to develop and maintain a strategic plan for the sport, including the continuing development of non-conference scheduling guidelines and communications strategies.”
“Mike's knowledge and experience will be an asset for me, our staff and the athletics programs of the SEC as we accelerate our men's basketball enhancement efforts,” Sankey said.
The SEC has averaged 4.1 tournament berths over the past 10 seasons. If there’s anyone who knows what it takes to give that number a boost, it’s Tranghese.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
