Greg Sankey: Golfing with President Trump & Paul Finebaum Upsetting the SEC Office

Summary

That SEC Football Podcast — July 27, 2026

Episode: Greg Sankey: Golfing with President Trump & Paul Finebaum Upsetting the SEC Office
Host: SEC Mike Bratton ("SEC Mike") and Cousin Shane
Guests: Greg Sankey (SEC Commissioner), Paul Finebaum

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Overview

In this lively episode, SEC Mike hosts a candid conversation with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and media personality Paul Finebaum. The trio sits down in Tampa to discuss everything from SEC site rotations and favorite football matchups to Sankey's surreal round of golf with President Trump, the dynamic nature of sports media critique, and the fan experience around rivalry and Thanksgiving games. The tone is relaxed but insightful, offering listeners behind-the-scenes perspectives on SEC leadership and the unique experiences of its commissioner.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Tampa as an SEC Host City

[00:13–01:03]

• Tampa’s Role: Sankey expresses positive impressions of Tampa as an SEC event destination, highlighting community enthusiasm and expanding SEC events in the area (e.g., upcoming gymnastics championships and bowl game relationships).
• Quote: “We’ve got some great communities, and it’s wonderful to feature different ones on an annual basis.” — Greg Sankey [00:35]

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2. Sankey’s Reading Habits

[01:03–01:54]

• Reading Styles: Sankey shares how he tries to make time for reading—even tweeting about it sometimes—usually at night or during travel.
• Personal Touch: He notes his reading interests aren’t always for everyone, but it’s important to him to keep up.
• Quote: “Hopefully I read—I need to read things that interest me, and I don’t know if they interest anybody else.” — Greg Sankey [01:41]

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3. Managing Health and Rest

[01:54–02:31]

• Wearables and Sleep: Sankey discusses his long-term use of sleep trackers, aiming for seven hours but often challenging during busy periods.
• Quote: “I have worn those for like eight years … I have tried to be around seven.” — Greg Sankey [02:05]

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4. Navigating Criticism and Sports Media

[02:32–04:05]

• Finebaum’s Influence: Sankey recalls not a personal slight but an incident involving a predecessor and Jadavian Clowney, highlighting the intense scrutiny SEC coaches face.
• Media Dynamics: Sankey and Finebaum agree that candid, critical analysis—even on networks aligned with the conference—benefits the sport and its audience.
• Quote: “Candor and honesty actually draws people in rather than just constant promotion.” — Greg Sankey [03:52]

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5. SEC Game Attendance Logistics

[04:05–05:38]

• Commissioner’s Schedule: Sankey details the complexity of attending games with a 16-team league over a 13-week season, aiming to see each team play at least once, ideally twice.
• Behind-the-Scenes: He outlines planning around commitments and maximizing coverage in key weeks (especially opening weekend and rivalry week).
• Quote: “Trying to make the math work with 16 teams in a 13-week season and two Saturdays where I know I can’t travel—we’ll get after it.” — Greg Sankey [04:58]

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6. The Surreal Golf Outing with President Trump

[05:38–09:27]

• Unique Experience: Sankey recounts in vivid detail his round of golf with President Trump at Bedminster, describing everything from Secret Service logistics to conversations covering sports issues, Florida’s Final Four, and global events.
• Atmosphere: He describes the combination of tension (playing with the President) and casualness, including musical selections from Trump’s cart and in-depth, wide-ranging dialogue.
• Memorable Moment: “And I ended up right next to the President of the United States on the driving range … I was solid with the eight iron off the bat.” — Greg Sankey [06:54]
• Humorous Bit: “President talked during my backswing because we’re talking about Florida’s basketball thing … I had lost my mojo for a few.” — Greg Sankey [08:17]
• Security Anecdote: “Do they really have the nuclear codes? … Look for the military aid, and that’s where I’ll go. And sure enough, it was on the back of a golf cart.” — Greg Sankey [08:58]
• Broad Perspective: He emphasizes respect for the office and awe at the proximity to the nation’s highest level of leadership, regardless of politics.

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7. Thanksgiving Game Scheduling

[10:01–10:52]

• Rivalry/Thanksgiving Game Discussion: Sankey reveals there have been internal discussions about reviving Thursday Thanksgiving games, but factors like competing NFL games and fan travel have made Friday games more favorable and successful in recent years.
• Quote: “When we played that Thursday night Thanksgiving game you didn’t have an NFL game … now you have an NFL game at night. So Friday … has been really successful for us the last two years.” — Greg Sankey [10:34]

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8. Officiating Critiques

[10:52–11:11]

• On Officiating Questions: Sankey takes questions about officiating in stride, recognizing their inevitability and the human element in refereeing.
• Quote: “They do a really good job. They’re not perfect. … We’ll work on making them better every day.” — Greg Sankey [11:03]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Criticism: “There’s a show tomorrow. … If this was like the one show and it lingered forever … maybe it would be a little bit more careful. But … candor and honesty actually draws people in …” — Greg Sankey [03:27, 03:52]
• On Golfing with Trump: “It was really fully engaging. … He talked for like 10 minutes about an issue. And then we went to the second hole, and he just talked. And it was really fully engaging.” — Greg Sankey [07:47]
• On the Surreality: “Forget politics or whatever, to have that opportunity, I literally … I’m walking up to my ball to hit … tonight in the bubble here.” — Greg Sankey [09:33]
• On Officiating: “No, it’s reality. … They’re not perfect. … We’ll work on making them better every day.” — Greg Sankey [11:00]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Tampa Reflections: [00:13–01:03]
• Reading Habits: [01:03–01:54]
• Sleep & Wearables: [01:54–02:31]
• Finebaum & Criticism: [02:32–04:05]
• SEC Game Attendance: [04:05–05:38]
• Golfing with Trump Story: [05:38–09:27]
• Thanksgiving Game Scheduling: [10:01–10:52]
• On Officiating: [10:52–11:11]

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Tone and Atmosphere

The tone is informal and engaging, with hosts and guest sharing laughs, self-aware observations, and candid behind-the-scenes details. Sankey’s down-to-earth demeanor and willingness to share both logistical insights and “surreal moments” make for a revealing exploration into the life of a high-profile sports commissioner. The episode is rich in personal anecdotes and practical reasoning behind major conference decisions.

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Useful For:

• SEC fans wanting to know more about conference leadership
• Sports enthusiasts interested in the intersection of athletics, media, and politics
• Anyone curious about the “human side” of sports administration and its unique experiences

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Transcript

[Greg Sankey]

Foreign.

[Paul Finebaum]

The show never thought this would happen. We got the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Mr. Greg Sankey. Thank you so much for making the time.

[Greg Sankey]

You're welcome. It's good to be here. Thanks for being here in Tampa. You guys got. Well, they got the window shades closed, so you can't see the water out there.

[Shane]

We had it. We had it for a few hours. Then it got too much light. I think when it was storming, it was a little bit better. But, hey, I'll tell you, Tampa, I was surprised. I'm surprised. I didn't. I didn't know how this would fit in the sec. But since we've been down here, it's been. Everything's been fantastic.

[Greg Sankey]

Yeah, good. They're good folks. And we're doing more in Tampa. We have our gymnastics championship coming up. We've got, in 27 and 28, March of each year, our. Our bold relationships here. And they. They pursued us. And when we went to Dallas, I had kind of the same reaction from folks about. And I didn't expect the Dallas experience to be as enjoyable as it was. So we've. We've got some great communities, and it's wonderful to feature different ones on an annual basis.

[Paul Finebaum]

How quickly do you read a book? Because when you tweet it out, I'll pick it up, I'll try to go through it, and I'm about 10 pages in. You're already on to the next one?

[Greg Sankey]

It depends. So I'm a little bit behind. I actually was slow in tweeting about some books. I was just so tied up. And usually July 4th weekend, I have, like, completely for three or four days, and I will typically kind of lock in and a couple of good stories or learning experiences. This year, I was actually busy with some work stuff over July 4th weekend. So I try to make time. So I'll read at night to kind of separate my day. And then if I'm traveling or have a little bit of downtime on a Saturday morning, I'll jump into a book and I'll try to keep it moving. Well, hopefully I read. I need to read things that interest me, and I don't know if they interest anybody else.

[Shane]

You know, my wife, she was trying to get me one of these bands that tells us how well we slept and how many hours. If that band was on your wrist right now, about how many hours you getting each night?

[Greg Sankey]

Well, I have worn those for, like, eight years. And it makes me. I'm not obsessive about it, but I am attentive. I Did not put the Apple watch on. So I had a little problem with other wearable. And I have tried to be around seven.

[Shane]

Yeah.

[Greg Sankey]

But I got in late Sunday night. Sunday night was about six and Monday night was about six. So last night I did a little bit catch up. So I feel better.

[Shane]

Very good.

[Greg Sankey]

Yesterday.

[Paul Finebaum]

Well, also I. I forgot to apologize for anything I've ever said on the Paul Fine Bomb show. Hopefully you've never seen any of that,

[Greg Sankey]

but my dad watches. My dad will tell me when something goes wrong.

[Paul Finebaum]

Okay, good, good. But you know, Paul's been very good to us. So I'm just kind of curious if you were willing to share, you know, what's the most upset you've ever been about anything Paul Fine Bomb related?

[Greg Sankey]

Well, the one I remember most was not about it wasn't me being upset with my predecessor on Jadavian Clowney comment that came out. I think probably for me, our coaches have a difficult enough job and when the rhetoric gets too much, you're gonna have some of this debate. It's been a while, but probably waited on a couple of those things. And as you go, as you go on through life, I think Paul would prob told me that then, you know, like there's a show tomorrow. So what's said today, there's going to be a tomorrow. And I've said that to some of our, some of our folks. Yeah, people watch. But you know, if this was like the one show and it lingered forever, you know, maybe, maybe it would be a little bit more careful. But we've never. And Paul understands this. We've never said that this is just a promotional platform. Sure, it's the SEC network that does create some different dynamics. But, you know, candor and honesty actually draws people in rather than just constant promotion.

[Shane]

I know you do attend some of these football games. Is there like a short list of teams that you'd like to see this year or some games. I know there's some huge storylines coming into this season. In particular LSU and Ole Miss. Is that. Is that one maybe you'd you find your way up to.

[Greg Sankey]

I plan to be there. I plan to be at the way I usually start structure. My schedule is my, my goals are to see everybody at home or at a neutral site. So the others I group together and then to see everybody twice if possible. And that's about 20 games. This year is going to be challenging. We have 13 weeks for 16 teams. So to see everyone, I have to go to multiple games just to see them once. And so I've Got a. I've done some weak work through the first three and then usually at the end like that Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving and Saturday I'll project those games and then try to figure out in between. And there are some Saturdays where I really can't travel because we have meetings where I might have another commitment. And so trying to make the Math work with 16 teams in a 13 week season and two Saturdays where I know I can't travel. We'll get after it Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the opening weekend for three games. Two games week two. Two games week three is the plan. So I will have seen three weeks in. I think seven of our 16 teams or eight of our 16 teams will have to keep the momentum going from there.

[Paul Finebaum]

So Shane's a big golfer.

[Shane]

Yeah.

[Paul Finebaum]

And I know I don't know how long ago but I don't think it was that long ago you went actually were golfing with the President of the United States last year. That's a position Shane and I will probably never be in.

[Greg Sankey]

I think I'd be.

[Paul Finebaum]

Can you explain that? I mean our listeners a position rarely anybody ever gets. Get it.

[Greg Sankey]

How surreal was that at the top of the surreal list. First the president was very engaging, very much wanted to talk about issues in college sports, kind of the issues. And then this was a couple months after Florida had won the Final Four and had visited the White House a month prior. So we talked about that visit. President, you hit the golf ball, you can get out of bunkers, you make some putts but you realize all that is around the President and like you're not going to make any sudden moves. And we I was with the Notre Dame athletic director, myself, Andrew Giuliani, a couple other folks and then the President of the United States. And I got outside the bubble, headed to the driving range. And as I'm heading to the driving range now you're navigating Secret Service and communications and there's about $12 carts, two people each and then there's support vehicles. So this is a traffic jam. And as I drove up I'm like, I don't want to be like right next to the President on the driving range. Like the first, first swing I hit some balls on Friday. This was a Sunday. Like just let me get like four or five spots down. I ended up right next to the President of the United States on the driving range and I pulled out an eight iron and I was solid with the eight iron off the bat. And then we had a conversation. Then we go to the first hole and I said to the Notre Dame ad, why don't we just ride in a cart together? Because we all had individual carts, which maybe I shouldn't have done that, but we can talk. And it was great. But we got outside the bubble again. So then when we walked up, we were navigating. People are looking at us. I think they had our photos and president hits first. And there's music playing. And I couldn't figure out why there's music playing. It was from the president's golf cart. All kinds of music. Opera, some classic rock. And then we all. We played in the sixam. It's his course. We were at Bedminster, and then he Talked for, like, 10 minutes about an issue. And then we went to the second hole, and he hit and he just talked. And it was really fully engaging. You know, you're trying to hit the ball well, but you're a little tense. I got off through four. I was won over. And then the president talked during my backswing because we're talking about Florida's basketball thing. He's like, I did that to you? He said, and I had lost my mojo for a few.

[Shane]

Did you go easy on him?

[Greg Sankey]

But you could talk about, you know, there was an Elon Musk departure the week before. He talked about college athletics issues, talked about for his team, talked about golf ball distance, talked about golf course design, the mayoral election in New York City. Later, I found out he went to Camp David and made some decisions a year ago about Iran. And, like, when I have a big decision, I'm distracted. Yeah, he was fully present. It was just. It was actually pretty remarkable. And then you watch the Secret Service. So I went up and I was like, hey, do they really have, like, the nuclear codes? He's like, look for the military aid, and that's where I'll go. And sure enough, it was on the back of a golf cart. And then you had Secret Service on the perimeter. And, like, can I ask you questions or do you have to shoot me? He's like, well, you can ask and we'll see. So it was. It was a fun day. Pretty.

[Paul Finebaum]

That sounds a little different than the Danridge.

[Shane]

Yeah, A little less snapper action at my course.

[Greg Sankey]

There are guys in the woods coming out. Like, those guys are with us. Right? Security, you know, guys in military. This is an interesting experience, but you respect the work of the Secret Service, the people around the president, and forget politics or whatever, to have that opportunity. I literally. You asked about surreal. I'm walking, like, up to my ball to hit or after I got off the tonight in the bubble here.

[Shane]

Yeah. Well, I respect what you do and everything for this conference final thing I've got before you. I know you got a busy, busy schedule, but you did talk a little bit about the rivalry week. I was always curious. Has there ever been any conversations about having a Thanksgiving game again?

[Greg Sankey]

Yes, but I think teams look at that from a fan base. They give them reasons not to go. And so what we've done is populate Friday, which has been enormously successful from a viewership standpoint, so people can enjoy Thanksgiving. You're also going up now against NFL games.

[Shane]

Right.

[Greg Sankey]

So when we played that Thursday night Thanksgiving game, you didn't have an NFL game Right. Against it. You know, the NFL played early and midday and not at night. Now you have an NFL game at night. So Friday, Even though the NFL's moved there with one of those Amazon games, has been really successful for us the last two years. Really great ratings.

[Paul Finebaum]

Yeah. Thank you again so much. Last question. There's a lot going on. Changing landscape. You ever get tired of being asked about officiating?

[Greg Sankey]

No. It's reality. Yeah. I mean, they do a really good job. They're not perfect. You know, we all make mistakes, but somehow they have to be perfect. So we'll work on making them better every day.

[Paul Finebaum]

Thank you so much.

[Greg Sankey]

Thank you.