SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took the podium at the SEC spring meetings on Monday, and boy, did he have a lot to say.
Sankey addressed hot-button topics ranging from the proposed College Football Playoff expansion to whether or not SEC teams should schedule marquee non-conference games in an effort to get the most teams possible into college football’s new postseason.
In recent months, the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director have held meetings to discuss more changes to the College Football Playoff. Those talks recently manifested in a move to a straight-seeding model this year that will remove the requirement for awarding first-round byes to conference champions. Now, the focus seems to be expanding the playoff to 14 or 16 teams, how those new brackets would be formatted, and how many automatic bids will be awarded to each conference.
There are many moving parts, and whatever format is ultimately decided on will have substantial knock-on effects on the sport’s regular season. But Sankey, who, alongside Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, is one of the most influential people in the room making these decisions, isn’t too thrilled that some of the other eight FBS conferences are posturing against some of these proposals in the media.
Specifically, Sankey referenced “coordinated press releases” during his media availability, a thinly veiled shot at the ACC and Big 12 who have acted in lockstep throughout this process.
SEC’s Greg Sankey, clearly taking a shot at Big 12 and ACC releasing statements last week after CFP straight-seeding announced
“I don’t lecture others about good of the game. Coordinated press releases about good of the game… I’m looking for ideas to move us forward.”
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) May 26, 2025
“I don’t need lectures from others about ‘good of the game,'” Sankey told reporters on Monday. “I don’t lecture others about ‘good of the game.’ And, coordinating press releases about ‘good of the game,’ again, you can issue a press statement, but I’m actually looking for ideas to move us forward.”
Sure, one can be a bit sympathetic to Sankey. Many stakeholders are invested in these decisions: schools, players, television partners, and fans are all impacted.
But to suggest that he’s “looking for ideas” on the best ways to move forward is a bit rich. In today’s college football landscape, the SEC and Big Ten propose the ideas, while everyone else fights for compromises aligned with their best interests. To imply that the SEC or Big Ten would take any big-picture ideas from another conference seriously is laughable. Everyone knows who is calling the shots.
Being bothered by a few coordinated press releases seems a bit sensitive from Sankey. The ACC and Big 12 are simply fighting for the best situation, even though the SEC and Big Ten hold all the cards. A press release might be one of the only semi-effective ways to combat a desperate situation for eight of the ten FBS conferences.
