LOS ANGELES -- Two recent high-profile coaching hires in the SEC have received public backlash and raised questions about the optics they present, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Sunday the conference played a limited role in the process, and the actual hiring decisions were made at the campus level.
Auburn hired Hugh Freeze as its head coach last month while Texas A&M hired offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino last week, two decisions that received scrutiny given both coaches' history.
Sankey said the SEC has a specific bylaw that defines if he needs to speak with the university president about the hire, and while that occurred with Freeze, it did not rise to that level with Petrino because his behavior wasn't an NCAA violation.