Greg Sankey made a bold statement Monday at SEC Media days, which could put his conference at odds with the Big Ten.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey referenced Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark's "doubling down" analogy when talking about the future of the College Football Playoff at SEC Media Days on Monday.
"That's part of the gambling experience," Sankey said. "You want to have a good hand to play. We (the SEC) have the best hand to play. We'll continue to debate whether expansion above 12 is appropriate."
Where is the Big Ten sitting at the table in this game of Blackjack? That is a question the SEC hasn't had to ask until the last two years – and one that will determine how the two conferences work together to bring us the 16-team College Football Playoff – which is the best move for the future.
"We have a different view (of College Football Playoff)," Sankey said. "We have a 12-team playoff that can stay (in 2026) if we don't agree (on a new format)."
The Big Ten has won the last two national championships. Michigan beat Alabama in 2023. Ohio State beat Tennessee and Texas in 2024. The Big Ten had four playoff teams last season, while the SEC had three. The Big Ten reported $928 million in revenue in 2023-24, a significantly higher number than the SEC's $840 million, according to Front Office Sports.
Greg Sankey is right about who controls CFP expansion
Perhaps the most viral comments from Sankey on Monday was a nod to his thoughts on the addition of Texas and Oklahoma last season.
"For all those of you who like to speculate about super-conferences, welcome to one," Sankey said. "We have common sense geography, restored rivalries, record-breaking viewership."
Sankey also re-addressed his comments from the SEC Meetings on May 29, which included floating out a16-team proposal.
"You're binding me to a 16-team playoff, but I'm going to walk you back,” Sankey said. “So I'm on record as participating in a decision process that 12 was the right direction, and that took years, plenty of ups and downs. As I said, the middle is messy, in a marathon it was messy. In that consideration, I think it worked well. Some of the changes happening around us that may create some competitive balance raise the question of expanding."
So while Yormark made his case last week, Sankey said he has been in contact with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips about the CFP. Then Sankey threw out one of his best cards.
"We don't need unanimity," Sankey said. "Ultimately, if not, there's a level of authority granted to the Big Ten and the SEC together, but there's a lot to that. It's not, you just show up and pound your fist and something happens. I hope that that type of narrative can be reduced, but we'll keep talking. We all talk a lot. Probably too much sometimes, right?
MORE:Projecting the CFP field in 2025
Will SEC, Big Ten lead CFP expansion with 2 compromises?
There are two factors the Big Ten and SEC talk about most that will shape an expanded CFP: automatic qualifier and strength of schedule.
The Big Ten favors multiple automatic qualifiers. Ohio State coach Ryan Day pushed for four AQs in a June interview. Sankey does not seem to be in favor of that.
"I've always been, always been a fan of there are no allocations. Like take the top eight back in 2019, when people were talking about expanding," Sankey said. "Take the top 12, I was an advocate for that. In fact, (I) went back through with colleagues this spring. I could take the top 14 or top 16."
The SEC seems to be good with the number as long as there is a strength-of-schedule component. The Big Ten plays nine conference games and wants the SEC to follow suit, as opposed to keeping that number to eight with late November matchups against the likes of Mercer and UMass.
If the SEC does finally transition nine in-conference matchups, then a 16-team College Football Playoff, most likely under a 5/11 model with straight seeding, will not be too far behind.
That is the job for the SEC and Big Ten now, and it's in both conferences' best interest to expand the field. That would likely mean an average of five or six teams each in the playoff each year.
More forgiveness for losses in the regular season. More chances to win a national title.
Both conferences have a winning hand. Play that hand and everybody in college football wins when we go to 16.
"I think there's this notion that there has to be this magic moment and something has to happen with expansion and it has to be forced," Sankey said. "No. I think, when you're given authority, you want to be responsible in using that authority. I think both of us are prepared to do so."
Category: General Sports
