SEC commissioner Greg Sankey opens spring meetings with CFP format shot: 'Positions seem to change a lot'

DESTIN, Fla. — With a steady downpour outside the Hilton Sandestin on Monday night, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey descended to the hotel’s basement to kick off the league’s annual spring meetings. With the College Football Playoff and self-governance among the leading topics entering the week, Sankey described the meetings as “overhyped.”

Yet in reality, plenty of college sports’ top issues will be on the line. And Sankey is ready to speak for his conference’s position. The Big Ten has doubled down on its push for a 24-team format, while the SEC continues its discussions around 16-, 20- and 24-team models. Sankey pointed to the Big Ten and commissioner Tony Petitti on cooling off on a 16-team field.

“I was surprised by that since they brought 16 to the table,” the SEC commissioner said Monday night. “When we were meeting last year, all those 16 ideas weren’t ours, and probably some of the outcomes. There’s probably clarity that they have looked at 16, just not much of late. He’d [Tony] have to explain their positioning.

“Our responsibility, I speak to the Southeastern Conference, is to look at a lot of alternatives. … Our responsibility, and we’ll spend some time with our membership on that, is just to kind of look at the spectrum of possibilities and kind of the rationale behind certain alternatives.”

Sankey said the SEC would not “have a unanimous vote right now on a number.” He does not anticipate any decisions on the CFP this week, but it will be a leading topic when he talks. Unbothered by being the lone proponent for a 16-team field, Sankey said: “positions [on playoff size] seem to change a lot.”

“Four to 12 was monumental, I think it was justifiable, and you want to be careful about how far you go.”

The proposed 24-team CFP model being discussed across the sport, and heavily backed by the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten would likely eliminate conference championship games. Sankey doubled down on the fact that the SEC has prior television commitments.

“We have a contract, so pretty committed,” he said.

Asked by On3 if the college football calendar would need to change before an expanded playoff, Sankey said he is not a proponent of moving Week 1 to Week 0. The American Football Coaches Association recently released recommendations that included supporting future playoff models that should maximize the number of participants, eliminate conference championship games and reduce scheduled bye weeks from two to one.

Sankey was not asked about the recommendations before release.

“I’ve never been a big fan of that,” the SEC commissioner said. “Labor Day is a good start.”

Outside CFP expansion, NIL enforcement and governance will lead discussions in meetings this week with coaches, athletic directors and presidents. Frustration continues to grow around the House settlement’s NIL clearinghouse, run by the College Sports Commission (CSC).

On the docket this week in Destin will be self-governing conversations among SEC leaders. That option is becoming a popular topic with the lack of success in D.C. Similar conversations were held last week among Big Ten leaders.

The frustration around roster spending, lack of oversight and self-governance creates a charged climate as the SEC kicks off its meetings.

“The fact that we’re talking about our own rules isn’t anything new,” Greg Sankey said. “What you’re hearing is the expression of frustration about the lack of progress, and I’ll go back to March 6. I was in the White House, and I spoke about the need for national standards. We still believe we need national standards. If those can’t be achieved, then we’ll have to look at more conference-led regulation, but that’s the reality we’re facing.”

Click here to read article