Greg Sankey Opens SEC Meetings With No CFP News, Urges Governance Amid 24-Team Push
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 25
Greg Sankey Opens SEC Meetings With No CFP News, Urges Governance Amid 24-Team Push
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 25
45 minutes into the SEC’s spring meetings, commissioner Greg Sankey said there would be no College Football Playoff announcement and instead made governance the central issue, saying college football must be “willing to be governed.”
Sankey pointed to systemic strains beyond playoff expansion: unrestricted player movement, opaque NIL deals, a broken calendar, gambling concerns and academic-integrity pressures that he said are eroding the sport’s foundations.
Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility fight underscored that breakdown after the transfer quarterback admitted betting on Indiana in 2022, said he became addicted to gambling and still sought to play through a Texas injunction case against the NCAA.
The backdrop is a Big Ten-backed 24-team playoff concept that Sankey’s critics see as a distraction from enforcement failures, with fears the SEC and Big Ten could still capture roughly 75% of the field.
Will new federal rules tame college football, or will the richest conferences just create their own system?
With athletes suing over gambling and million-dollar buyouts, has the college sports model collapsed beyond repair?
College Football Playoff Expansion at a Crossroads: SEC, Big Ten, and the Push for Conference Autonomy by December 2026
Overview
At the 2026 SEC Spring Meetings, Commissioner Greg Sankey set a cautious tone by announcing that no decisions on College Football Playoff (CFP) expansion would be made during the event. While other major conferences have already taken clear positions on expanding the playoff from 12 to 24 teams, the SEC is choosing a more deliberate approach, emphasizing that there is still time for careful consideration. This stance highlights the SEC’s preference for thoughtful deliberation over rushing into a decision, keeping the conference in a period of evaluation as the debate over the future of college football’s postseason continues.