"I don't need lectures from others about good of the game": Greg Sankey gets blunt on future of SEC while calling 12-team CFP a mistake

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NCAA Basketball: SEC Basketball Tipoff - Source: Imagn
NCAA Basketball: SEC Basketball Tipoff - Source: Imagn

The Southeastern Conference is seeing increased interest from its leadership in a possible expansion of the college football playoff from 12 to 16 teams for the 2026 season. Just last week, all 10 conferences, along with Notre Dame, reached a unanimous agreement to shift to a straight seeding model for the upcoming season’s 12-team playoff.

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This structural change came in response to last season’s bracket, which elevated lower-ranked teams like Arizona State and Boise State, ranked ninth or lower by the playoff selection committee, into top-four seeds with first-round byes. That outcome led SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to begin pushing for a more refined system this year.

In a Monday press conference during spring meetings in Destin, Florida, Sankey was asked about balancing what’s best for the SEC with the broader good of college football.

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"Look at the track record," Sankey said. "We didn’t need twelve. Had we stayed at four, we would have half the four last year. I don’t need lectures from others about the good of the game, and I don’t lecture others about the good of the game. Coordinating press releases about the good of the game, ok, you can issue your press statement.
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"But I’m actually looking for ideas to move us forward. I’ll go back and say, I thought the twelve team design was really well considered at the time.
"We never had a unanimous vote to support the 12 team playoff, even though I was involved in that work. That didn’t mean everybody in this league thought 14 was the best idea. But you engage in that type of problem solving."
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Greg Sankey on more autonomy for the power four conferences

Greg Sankey has also addressed the future governance of college football, talking about the idea of the SEC potentially breaking away from the NCAA. A 65% weighted voting model is being proposed for NCAA committees, but Sankey is advocating for 68%.

With 68%, the four major conferences could pass measures without needing unanimous support, since at 65%, any dissent among the four could stall progress.

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"SEC has asked for more autonomy for the four conferences," Greg Sankey told Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger. "I don’t have the authority to just depart (the NCAA). I’ve shared with the decision-making working group that I have people in my room asking, ‘Why are we still in the NCAA?’
"We’d like to see more authority and autonomy granted under the NCAA heading and we’d like to come together for championships. We talked about an autonomy division under the NCAA and would be linked but you'd have more authority on autonomy."

Whatever proposals are set forward by Greg Sankey, this is the week for hashing them out, as the conference's spring meetings are underway.

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.
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