Tampa Bay Shines Throughout a Memorable SEC Football Media Days

 

Sights and sounds from a memorable SEC Football Kickoff Media Days in Tampa:

 

There was SEC commissioner Greg Sankey riding the roller coasters at Busch Gardens before stopping to take a few calls. What do you expect for someone at the forefront of college football’s future?

 

“I went hard out of the box, then I ended up on the phone,’’ Sankey said. “I apparently built a great deal of street cred with the younger group I was hanging with.’’

 

There was Georgia coach Kirby Smart talking about his roots in Plant City, the birthplace of his mother, the annual visits with family, the spring-training games with the Cincinnati Reds, watching Pete Rose when he was a kid. And, of course, the Strawberry Festival.

 

“The Strawberry Festival is special,’’ Smart said. “If you don’t know, you don’t know. And if you know, you know. I’m excited to be here in Tampa. Some of the best memories of my childhood  are outside of Tampa.’’

 

There was Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown, the veteran of four seasons at USF, back in his adopted hometown of Tampa.

 

“It’s surreal being here,’’ Brown said. “It’s a blessing to be back here. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to have played for the Bulls. I’m an alum. I got a degree from there. Now I’m excited about this opportunity at Auburn, and I couldn’t think of a better place to be right now than Tampa.’’

 

Through it all — after 50 hours of coverage on the SEC Network, plus voluminous interviews with 16 head coaches and 48 players — there was Sankey and his SEC colleagues absolutely delighted with the decision to place SEC Media Days in Tampa for the first time.

 

And there was the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, once again delivering effectively while staging a big event and, as usual, surpassing all expectations.

 

“We’ve never had a waterside view at Media Days in Birmingham, Nashville, Atlanta and Dallas,’’ a smiling Sankey said as he glanced outside at the sunshine-shimmering water during a break at the Tampa Marriott Water Street. “The feedback I’ve had has been great. As I saw everyone exiting the bus (following a Wednesday night hospitality event at Raymond James Stadium), everyone had a smile on their face.

 

“We’ve held our (men’s) basketball tournament here (in 2009 and 2022). We’ve been able to build on that momentum. That was reflected in our decision to hold the Media Days here in Tampa. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission has continued to meet those high expectations and high standards for each day of our Media Days experience. When I sat down at the beginning of the week, (some people) were like, ‘Why are we in Tampa?’ Now I sit down, and they say, ‘Man, this has been such a neat experience.’ So we do appreciate the interest, the effort, and meeting the expectations of success or excellence.’’

 

SEC associate commissioner Herb Vincent said he initially heard some skepticism about shifting the league’s Media Days to Tampa and away from the conference’s centrally located places such as Birmingham or Nashville.

 

“When you do something new, the media sometimes reacts by saying, ‘Why are you doing that?’ Vincent said. “They criticize it. Well, this morning (Thursday), I was approached by some media members who said, ‘Whatever you do, you’ve got to bring it back here.’

 

“It has been an amazing week. We’ve had a great time. Some places have (a desirable) location, but they don’t have the kind of people that you do in this town to make a place where you want to return. Tampa has got a little bit of everything. We’re in Nashville (in 2027), and we haven’t said anything beyond that. But we certainly have had a great experience in Tampa.’’

That was music to the ears of TBSC executive director Lanness Robinson.

 

“We always judge the success of an event by our ability to bring it back for a second time, a third time, and so on,’’ Robinson said. “We love our partnership with the SEC, and we’re really excited about bringing other events here, along with the future (SEC) events that we can attract.’’

 

The SEC’s Florida Gators will open the men’s basketball season against the Miami Hurricanes (in a doubleheader that also features Florida State against Florida A&M) on Nov. 2 at Benchmark International Arena.

 

The SEC Gymnastics Championships will have a two-year run in Tampa during 2027 and 2028, a rare two-year commitment for the wildly popular event that has grown exponentially during a three-decade evolution.

 

Meanwhile, the fabled Florida-Georgia football rivalry game will be held at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in 2027. It will also be held in Atlanta during 2026 while the traditional site of Jacksonville undergoes renovations to its stadium.

 

“We have some great momentum now, and we really look forward to building on this relationship with the SEC,’’ TBSC senior vice president of events Claire Lessinger said.

 

Lessinger said the SEC Media Days lineup was greatly complemented by Sunday’s FanFest, which included a live broadcast from SEC Nation along the Ford Thunder Alley, and Monday’s Beyond the Banners event, where SEC associate commissioner Tiffany Daniels and SEC Network broadcaster Alyssa Lang addressed a Lessinger-described group of “women who win’’ from all fields, including sports.

 

There were also nightly hospitality functions for media, staff members and sponsors.

 

“I think we’re pretty biased that we do it (presenting events) best,’’ Lessinger said. “When I say ‘we,’ I mean our community. We have so many great assets from our attraction partners to our restaurant partners to our waterfront. It doesn’t get much better. We have one of the best airports. Everything’s convenient, accessible, walkable. The weather has even been fantastic. I think everyone is walking away from Tampa — if they didn't already know it — saying really great things about us. And I think it starts with the people. It starts with the hospitality.’’

 

Sankey said he realized that when he finished a full marathon as the 2008 Gasparilla Distance Classic. Near the Tampa Convention Center, there were sample servings of the 1905 salad from the Columbia Restaurant. Sankey had similarly surprising experiences during the various Women’s Final Fours and the 2017 College Football Playoff national-championship game, plus the two SEC Men’s Basketball Tournaments that were held in Tampa.

 

“Tampa is a great place,’’ Sankey said. “There’s a lot that goes on to make all this happen (at SEC Media Days). When you think about all the events that we manage — four full days from morning until evening — we have gotten great support from the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and everyone in the community. It has all been great.’’

 

“It has been such a fun week in Tampa,’’ Lang said. “I don’t want to leave. I just want to stay and not work and go to the beach and enjoy everything else about Tampa.’’