SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday he does not anticipate any decisions on a College Football Playoff expansion as chatter continues about expanding the field to 16 teams—or even 24. Asked about conference championship game implications, Sankey pointed t
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey walked into Monday’s news conference with the clearest message yet: don’t expect him to sign off on a bigger College Football Playoff anytime soon.
With SEC meetings set to begin, Sankey was asked directly about possible changes to the postseason. His answer was blunt. “I do not anticipate any decisions on a College Football Playoff,” Sankey said, as SEC leaders gathered for the start of meetings.
The backdrop is busy. The CFP has only been expanded and reshaped for a few years, and NCAA football remains in a constant state of speculation about what comes next. One idea already taking shape in the Big Ten circle is moving the CFP from 12 teams to as many as 16.
Sankey pushed back on the notion that the SEC is simply falling in line. He said the Big Ten “brought 16 to the table right when we were meeting last year,” adding, “All those 16 ideas, they weren’t ours.”
The question now isn’t just how many teams could make the field. It’s whether conference commissioners could ever agree on anything at all. Sankey said Monday he doesn’t see a path to unanimity right now. “I don’t think we’d have a unanimous vote right now. ” he said when asked about his league’s preference for how many teams should be allowed into the CFP each year.
Sixteen remains only one proposal reportedly being discussed. Another rumored option—one that would dramatically change the postseason calendar—is a 24-team playoff. If that scenario ever took shape, it would force difficult choices about conference championship games, including the SEC title contest.
Sankey didn’t soften that tension when reporters asked about his stance on the SEC’s conference title game. It is believed that if the CFP expands. then those games would have to be eliminated—but Sankey’s response came down to commitments already in place. “We have contracts, so pretty committed,” he said.
Even so, the CFP conversation is far from done. CFP commissioners, including Sankey, are reportedly looking at the possibility of getting a field of 24 teams for the future. Time will tell whether the CFP expands anytime soon—because for now. Sankey is drawing a line under the idea of decisions arriving quickly. while the rest of the football world keeps turning over the same numbers.