SEC spring – College Football playoff expansion is set to collide with conference politics, as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey faces internal pressure. Joel Klatt says most SEC coaches and athletic directors favor a 24-team model, even as Sankey has backed a different directi
When the SEC gathers for spring meetings next week in Destin, Florida, the loudest battle may not be on the field. It could be in the room where playoff expansion plans are debated.
Joel Klatt said on his show Friday that multiple coaches told him the overwhelming majority of SEC coaches and athletic directors want a 24-team College Football Playoff model. His claim comes on the heels of Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti’s criticism of the 16-team CFP model supported by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
Petitti argued that the 16-team structure would make economic sense for conferences if they had to lose their league championship games—an attack aimed at the proposal backed by Sankey. Meanwhile, Petitti and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips both support a 24-team CFP model.
Klatt’s version of the SEC’s internal mood is sharper than the public messaging. He said multiple coaches told him “90% of the coaches in the SEC, and 100% of the athletic directors in the SEC favor a 24-team model for playoff expansion.”
He also suggested the upcoming SEC spring meetings could become uncomfortable, not because everyone is already aligned, but because what coaches want may clash with what Sankey has publicly said.
“I had multiple coaches tell me that 90% of the coaches in the SEC. and 100% of the athletic directors in the SEC favor a 24-team model for playoff expansion. ” Klatt said. “There is a sentiment. at least amongst the Big Ten coaches. that the meetings between Greg Sankey. the commissioner of the SEC. and his coaches. are going to be contentious because the coaches are going to be pushing for one thing. and Greg has publicly. obviously. stated something very different and in opposition of the 24-team model. and they might not have a consensus down there.”.
Klatt framed the sticking point as more than simple disagreement over tournament math. He said the power dynamics in the SEC may make it hard for Sankey to pivot, because university presidents—not coaches—ultimately shape the commissioner’s decisions.
“It should be noted, Greg works for the (university) presidents of the SEC, just like Tony Petitti works for the presidents of the Big Ten,” Klatt said. “And if the athletic directors and coaches get their presidents on board, Greg Sankey’s not going to be able to fend off all of his bosses.”
He continued by emphasizing how quickly leverage can shift. “He’s got 16 bosses in the SEC. If 12 of those guys come up and say, ‘No, no, no, this is what we want,’ then the SEC’s tune is going to change. And there was a sentiment among a lot of the people in the Big Ten that that could happen.”
But not every SEC head coach is on the same page. Klatt noted that Steve Sarkisian. the Texas head coach. said on Thursday that he wants to go back to the four-team CFP. Klatt added that the four-team option has little momentum. arguing that the 16-team model “doesn’t appear to have enough traction from Power 4 programs.”.
In his view, the real near-term question is whether the 12-team model can hold for a short period before the sport moves toward 24 teams. He said the 12-team model could stay short term, but that “eventually an expansion to 24 teams looks inevitable,” leaving only the timing up for debate.
By next week in Destin, the dispute won’t just be theoretical. If SEC coaches and athletic directors are truly pushing for 24 teams while Sankey remains publicly aligned with another plan. the meetings could become a test of whether conference politics can overpower the commissioner’s line—or whether presidents will ultimately choose a different direction.
SEC Greg Sankey Joel Klatt College Football Playoff 24-team model 16-team model Tony Petitti Jim Phillips Destin Florida Steve Sarkisian NCAA