The 2024 version of SEC Media Days hits its final day today from the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas. What is new is the location for the annual four-day event and, of course, two new programs and new media markets welcomed in with Texas and Oklahoma joining the already stacked conference. The league also has a new setup with no more divisions as it had in previous years.
Rob Fischer, who is on site covering the event for Grind City Media in Memphis, has covered 21 SEC Media Days. In addition to his work on Grind City, Fischer is the television sideline reporter for the Memphis Grizzlies and also works on their pre- and post-game shows, but previously hosted afternoon drive on Sports56 WHBQ.
BSM talked to Fischer about the growth of the event. “It just outgrew Birmingham,” Fischer said. “The last couple of years in Birmingham, they had tables that were set up almost in the mall because they ran out of space in the hotel lobby. And it was great in Birmingham, but it was just too small, and it outgrew that.”
After stops in Atlanta and Nashville, the conference took the show to Big D and the Omni Hotel, which formerly had hosted Big 12 Media Days.
“It’s a lot of room,” Fischer said. He said while there are a lot more people around, in general, the total number of radio stations broadcasting on site and media members who have come to cover the event is about the same as in year’s past. BSM reached out to the conference and was told the media number of around 1,200 total people is on par with recent years.
“Going to these big cities have cut out a lot of the bloggers and the podcasters,” he said. “When they used to have it in Hoover, everybody just drove there and then could leave and go back home that night. But now it’s more the bigger radio stations because they’re pricing people out, too. It’s become pretty expensive to be a part of SEC Media Days.”
‘Fish,’ who also spent time at KFNS in St. Louis and with the former SportsFan Radio Network in Las Vegas, also said that while there is obviously more presence from the media covering Texas and Oklahoma, it really was last year when those markets started scoping out SEC Media Days.
“There was a lot of Texas and Oklahoma media last year in Nashville. This year there are a lot of stations from Dallas, from Houston, from all over Texas. Texas A&M started the footprint in the Texas area and in the Texas market. And since there was talk about the others leaving and jumping ship and coming to the SEC as well, those numbers got bigger.
“But I’ll say this, it’s pretty clear. I went to a Big 12 Media Days in Dallas years ago. It’s pretty clear Dallas is now an SEC town.”
Something else that is new is the league will be starting its first year of the new landmark media rights package with ESPN and ABC. The package is worth around $300 million per year. ESPN has had a large presence at SEC Media Days for several years and Fischer said he didn’t notice much of a larger presence in 2024.
“They’ve done it pretty big for a while now, ever since the SEC Network jumped on board,” he said. “Having [Paul] Finebaum out here and having shows all day, running all the press conferences and having all the coaches and players on the set. Maybe there’s a little more talent here, but I haven’t noticed a bigger presence from ESPN. It’s always been pretty big.”
As for what a lot of the shows on-site are talking about, Fischer said most things tie back to the additions of Oklahoma and Texas and wondering how teams will get through their conference schedules.
“Because of adding those two teams, because of getting rid of divisions, there’s not an easy schedule in the conference,” he said. “Some teams you might say that their schedule is a little easier than others, but none of them are truly easy, especially because every team either gets Texas or Oklahoma this first year. It’s going to be tough, but because of the 12-team playoff, you don’t have to go undefeated to be in that playoff or to win the SEC anymore. So, I think there’s a little bit of leeway there.
“I think you’re looking at five playoff teams from the SEC, minimum, in this first year of the playoff.”
