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When USC and UCLA left the PAC12 to join the Big Ten, this resulted in a significant surprise to the college world. Since then, college fans have questioned what other conferences, such as the SEC, would do.
Sankey’s expansion take
SEC’s commissioner Greg Sankey addressed the rumors to the public this morning.
“No panic in reaction to others’ decisions. We know who we are. We are confident in our collective strength and we are uniquely positioned to continue to provide remarkable experiences educationally and athletically, along with world-class support to student athletes.”
However, Sankey acknowledges that the sports world is constantly changing and that the SEC will address to those changes when the time comes.
“Do we face headwinds in college sports? Absolutely. It’s actually not new. It’s a decades-old problem, and those decades-old problems now rest firmly on our agendas. The SEC will not be complacent, even with the acknowledgement that we’re in a position of strength,” he said.
Additionally, Sankey mentions how competitive the SEC is and how it does not compare to the other conferences. He highlights some successes by noting how six different teams have won national championships within the last 25 years, and that number does not exist with other conferences.
College Football Playoff Format
Within the conference, Sankey also addressed the topic of the expansion of the four-team College Football Playoff format.
A working group that included current SEC commissioner Greg Sankey suggested a 12-team model. In addition to six at-large bids for the remaining top-ranked teams, that proposal also contained six automatic bids for the highest-ranked conference winners. Due in part to the shifting demographics of conference membership across the nation, the idea wasn’t implemented.
When asked about the format, Sankey said, “If we want to expand to eight teams for the Playoff with no automatic bids, I’ll have that conversation. But moving to an eight-team playoff and granting what were going to be six automatic bids, reducing at-large access, is unwise.”
Sankey is adamant that the CFP expansion structure, which he helped to establish, is the best strategy for the most effective postseason.
