11 months ago
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ATLANTA, Ga. - As the timepiece ticks connected a Dec. 1 deadline to find a format for the College Football Playoff successful 2026 and beyond, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey reiterated the anticipation it could enactment astatine 12 teams if his league and the Big Ten can't hold connected what exemplary would beryllium best.
Sankey said helium and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti spoke 4 retired of 5 days past week and acknowledged the SEC's "different view" coming retired of its outpouring meetings successful Destin, Fla. While the Big Ten has favored a exemplary that rewards conferences with guaranteed spots and play-in games to find them, the SEC coaches astir precocious said they would present similar a 16-team format that includes the 5 highest-ranked league champions and 11 at-large bids.
"The Big Ten has a antithetic view," Sankey said pursuing his opening remarks connected the archetypal time of SEC media days astatine the College Football Hall of Fame. "That's fine. We person a 12-team playoff, 5 league champions. That tin enactment if we can't agree."
Before agreeing to a caller media rights woody with ESPN successful March 2024, the 9 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame enactment had to archetypal motion a memorandum of knowing that outlined successful wide presumption what the adjacent declaration would look like. Sankey said the papers gives the Big Ten and the SEC the bulk of power implicit the playoff's aboriginal format. It's an statement immoderate person privately questioned, but Sankey emphasized the relation the Big Ten and SEC person successful the room.
"Unless you're going to teardrop up the MOU - which possibly different radical privation to bash due to the fact that of their concerns astir the decision-making authority," Sankey said, "but precise intelligibly successful that memorandum of knowing is [the authority] granted to the operation of the SEC and Big Ten yet we person to usage that authorization with large contented and discretion."
That doesn't mean they volition agree.
"I deliberation there's this conception that determination has to beryllium immoderate magic moment, and thing has to hap with expansion, and it has to beryllium forced," Sankey said. "When you're fixed authority, you privation to beryllium liable utilizing that authority. I deliberation some of america are prepared to bash truthful ... we don't request unanimity, and ultimately, if not, there's a level of authorization granted to the Big Ten and SEC together. But there's a batch to that. It's not you conscionable amusement up and lb your fist and thing happens. I anticipation that benignant of communicative tin beryllium reduced, but we'll support talking."
The SEC volition besides proceed to support talking astir its 2026 schedule, and whether to determination from 8 to 9 league games - besides a cardinal constituent successful the CFP discussions, arsenic aggregate sources successful the Big Ten person said they wouldn't see a 5+11 exemplary unless the SEC and the ACC some determination to 9 league games. Sankey said each squad successful the SEC played astatine slightest 9 games against Power opponents, and respective played 10 of their 12 games against Power opponents. And the aforesaid volition beryllium existent this fall.
"I don't judge there's anyone looking to swap their league docket and its opponents with the opponents played by the Southeastern Conference teams successful our league schedule, beryllium it 8 oregon nine," Sankey said. " ... determination is simply a rigor present that is unique."
Sankey said erstwhile they marque a determination connected their schedule, the league bureau is "pretty acceptable to go."
"It won't linger terribly overmuch longer," Sankey said. "We person to marque decisions astir the '26 play and set if we're going to spell to 9 games, and determination person to beryllium games removed oregon rescheduled, and if we enactment astatine eight, astir apt a small spot easier connected that portion of the logistics."
Sankey addressed a wide scope of topics connected Monday, saying helium doesn't deliberation assemblage athletics has experienced truthful overmuch alteration successful the past 100 years arsenic it faces now.
"Let maine beryllium clear," helium said, "from my perspective, assemblage athletics is not broken. It is nether stress. It is strained."
As the House colony begins to enactment a caller fiscal load connected campuses, Sankey said the SEC has besides considered "outside financing ideas" arsenic precocious arsenic past week. He said the SEC's stance connected backstage equity hasn't changed, and it's not the close determination for the league astatine this time.
"We person been astir apt 2 and a half, 3 years into visits with banks, backstage equity, with task capital," helium said. "You tin spell down the range, backstage superior is different operation that's been used. That's not been the close absorption for us. We've not seen the conception that works. That doesn't mean we won't see opportunities. If determination are opportunities for communal benefit, those would highest our interest, but the conception of conscionable jumping to thing due to the fact that there's a cookware of wealth determination seems an uninformed absorption and simply taking propositions wherever there's not the benignant of clarity astir what if you don't conscionable your precocious extremity predictions, what's near then? Those are things that proceed measurement heavy connected our mind."
