With the SEC Spring Meetings underway, the future of the College Football Playoff is again front and center – and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t pulling any punches.
As debate heats up over the structure and control of the CFP beyond the upcoming 2025 season, Sankey made clear that the Southeastern Conference is done playing defense.
Speaking to the media this week in Destin, the commissioner responded directly to growing concerns from other conferences, notably the ACC and Big 12, about the SEC’s outsized influence in playoff discussions.
“I don’t need lectures from others about the good of the game, I don’t lecture others about good of the game and coordinating press releases about the good of the game,” Sankey said bluntly.
“You can issue your press statement, but I’m actually looking for ideas to move us forward.”
His comments come as the CFP prepares to transition to a true 12-team format in 2025, moving away from awarding automatic byes to conference champions and adopting a straight seeding system instead.
While the structure for 2025 is locked in, discussions have already begun on what the playoff will look like beginning in 2026.
Reports earlier this month suggested that the ACC and Big 12 are frustrated with the perceived imbalance in influence during CFP negotiations, with Sankey and the SEC taking a lead role alongside the Big Ten.
Sankey pushed back against criticisms that the SEC is acting in its own interest, reminding reporters that the league supported expansion to 12 teams even when it didn’t need to.
“Look at the track record. We didn’t need 12. Had we stayed at four, we would’ve had half the four last year,“ Sankey said. “I thought the 12-team design was really well considered at the time. We never had a unanimous vote to support the 12-team playoff.”
Sankey emphasized that the SEC’s participation in playoff expansion was a cooperative gesture, not a self-serving one.
“Even though I was involved in that work, that didn’t mean everybody in this league, when we were at four teams, thought it was the best idea. But you engage in that type of problem solving.”
Sankey’s statements reflect the growing power imbalance within college football’s conference structure.
Right or wrong, with the SEC and Big Ten widely viewed as the sport’s dominant forces, the future of the CFP may ultimately be decided by their vision.
Sankey also spoke about the speculation that the CFP may expand to a “5+11” model.
“They talked about – I’ll call it a 5+11 model – and our own ability to earn those berths… At the coaching level, the question is, why wouldn’t that be fine? Why wouldn’t we do that?” Sankey said.
“We talked about 16 with them. So, good conversation, not a destination, but the first time I’ve had the ability to go really in depth with ideas with them.”
As the meetings in Destin continue throughout the week, playoff expansion and conference power dynamics are expected to remain a dominant theme.
For the SEC, the focus is now on leveraging its influence not just to shape the future of the CFP, but to reestablish it’s dominance in the college football world.
What are your thoughts on Sankey’s comments and his overall vision for the future???
