Ohio State AD Gene Smith shares support for Big Ten, SEC advisory group for college sports
The Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference are teaming up.
The Big Ten and SEC announced they would be forming a "joint advisory group of university presidents, chancellors, and athletics directors to address the significant challenges facing college athletics and the opportunities for betterment of the student- athlete experience" a release states.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith shared his appreciation of the new advisory group Friday.
“I support the leadership role that the Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference are undertaking with the goal of improving our student-athlete experiences and also finding solutions to the challenges facing collegiate athletics today," Smith said in a statement. "I applaud Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on their proactive partnership and leadership role that will address the issues and seek solutions within the current environment.”
The advisory group will tackle topics such as recent court decisions, pending litigation, state laws and governance proposals. Through this group, the Big Ten and SEC are planning to "take a leadership role in developing solutions for a sustainable future of college sports," the release states.
The group will have no authority to act independently and is only a consulting body.
“The Big Ten and the SEC have substantial investment in the NCAA and there is no question that the voices of our two conferences are integral to governance and other reform efforts,” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said in a statement. “We recognize the similarity in our circumstances, as well as the urgency to address the common challenges we face.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey adds that neither conference has "predetermined answers to the myriad questions facing us."
"We do not expect to agree on everything but enhancing interaction between our conferences will help to focus efforts on common sense solutions," Sankey said in a release.
Ahead of the 2024-25 school year, Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten, while Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gene Smith, Ohio State AD, supports Big Ten, SEC joint advisory group
