"We've given up too much": SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reveals some ADs believe they have compromised beyond need

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says some of the schools' athletic directors believe the conference has given up too much in terms of the College Football Playoff.

The CFP expanded to 12 teams, and many programs in the SEC think the conference should have a certain number of teams guaranteed to be in the playoff.

Sankey says at the SEC's athletic director meetings, he says they felt like the conference has also compromised too much.

"We had our athletics directors meetings in May where they said we've given up too much, perhaps in the college football playoff," Sankey said (22:30). "The allocations currently made for other champions to displace our teams or move into the top-four. We will continue to work those."

The SEC and Big Ten have been trying to get guaranteed spots in the CFP. But that hasn't been the case, and instead, it's five conference championships and at-large bids, which the SEC could win, but aren't guaranteed.

If the CFP expands to 16 teams, the SEC will want a guaranteed number of teams. But Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin says it should just be the 16-highest-ranked teams in college football and not Group of Five or conference champions.

Greg Sankey pitches 5+11 model for CFP

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has pitched another model for the CFP if it expands to 16 teams.

Sankey believes it should be the five conference champions and then 11 at-large bids, which would be the next 11 highest-ranked teams.

"They talked about — I’ll call it a 5-11 model — and our own ability to earn those berths,” Sankey said, via The Athletic. “The question is, why wouldn’t that be fine? Why wouldn’t we do that? 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.”

It does seem to be a fair model for the playoffs, as many have thought the SEC and Big Ten will get a guaranteed certain amount of teams in the playoffs.

But, for the 2025 season, the same format will be used as last year for the CFP.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton