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MIRAMAR BEACH, FL – The human firewall to a 24-team College Football Playoff remains a shield the Big Ten can’t penetrate.
If Greg Sankey feels lonely on his hill of resistance to 24, he’s not showing it.
“It doesn’t bother me,” to be the lone holdout, the SEC's commissioner said.
A 24-team playoff isn’t getting the SEC’s sign-off this week — not if Sankey has anything to say about it.
And, trust me, the SEC’s outspoken, influential commissioner will have plenty to say about the playoff, as his conference’s spring meetings unfold here at a beachfront resort in the Florida panhandle.
“I do not anticipate any decisions on the College Football Playoff, just so we’re clear,” Sankey said during a news conference on the eve of the SEC’s spring meetings, where coaches, athletic directors and university chancellors and presidents will gather.
“We’ll spend time looking at a range of possibilities,” Sankey said.
Three of the four power conferences have aligned behind 24 teams. The playoff cannot expand without the SEC’s approval.
SEC headquarters favors a 16-team playoff but there’s some fissures within the ranks. Certain SEC coaches support 24, and so does at least one SEC athletic director, Tennessee’s Danny White. Coaches get a voice. They don’t get a vote.
Sankey didn’t outright say he’d refuse to get on board with 24, but it’s clear he’s got serious reservations.
“Four to 12 was monumental (growth) but I think it was justifiable. You want to be careful about how far you go,” he said.
Later, he was asked whether there was any concern a 24-team playoff would water down the postseason too much.
“It is (a concern) for me,” Sankey said.
As to the idea of potentially lengthening college football’s playoff, Sankey said “football is not an eight-week tournament sport.”
That’s a shot across the bow of a 24-team playoff, which would expand an already lengthy playoff to five rounds.
Sankey also reaffirmed his support for continuing to play the SEC Championship Game. Ideas for a 24-team playoff generally involve getting rid of conference championships.
“Pretty committed” to playing a conference championship game, he said, adding the game is under contract.
Pretty committed, too, to resisting 24.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 24‑team College Football Playoff has one problem: Greg Sankey
Continue reading...
If Greg Sankey feels lonely on his hill of resistance to 24, he’s not showing it.
“It doesn’t bother me,” to be the lone holdout, the SEC's commissioner said.
A 24-team playoff isn’t getting the SEC’s sign-off this week — not if Sankey has anything to say about it.
And, trust me, the SEC’s outspoken, influential commissioner will have plenty to say about the playoff, as his conference’s spring meetings unfold here at a beachfront resort in the Florida panhandle.
“I do not anticipate any decisions on the College Football Playoff, just so we’re clear,” Sankey said during a news conference on the eve of the SEC’s spring meetings, where coaches, athletic directors and university chancellors and presidents will gather.
“We’ll spend time looking at a range of possibilities,” Sankey said.
Three of the four power conferences have aligned behind 24 teams. The playoff cannot expand without the SEC’s approval.
SEC headquarters favors a 16-team playoff but there’s some fissures within the ranks. Certain SEC coaches support 24, and so does at least one SEC athletic director, Tennessee’s Danny White. Coaches get a voice. They don’t get a vote.
Sankey didn’t outright say he’d refuse to get on board with 24, but it’s clear he’s got serious reservations.
“Four to 12 was monumental (growth) but I think it was justifiable. You want to be careful about how far you go,” he said.
Later, he was asked whether there was any concern a 24-team playoff would water down the postseason too much.
“It is (a concern) for me,” Sankey said.
As to the idea of potentially lengthening college football’s playoff, Sankey said “football is not an eight-week tournament sport.”
That’s a shot across the bow of a 24-team playoff, which would expand an already lengthy playoff to five rounds.
Sankey also reaffirmed his support for continuing to play the SEC Championship Game. Ideas for a 24-team playoff generally involve getting rid of conference championships.
“Pretty committed” to playing a conference championship game, he said, adding the game is under contract.
Pretty committed, too, to resisting 24.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's senior national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 24‑team College Football Playoff has one problem: Greg Sankey
Continue reading...
