05/11/26 04:24:00
Printable Page
05/11 16:22 CDT SEC commissioner Greg Sankey stands firm on 16-team CFP,
details challenges amid 24-team push
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey stands firm on 16-team CFP, details challenges
amid 24-team push
By MAURA CAREY
AP Sports Writer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) --- Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey
stood firm behind a 16-team College Football Playoff expansion Monday,
indicating that a disagreement with the Big Ten --- which backs doubling the
current bracket to 24 teams --- is lingering deep into the offseason.
"That focus hasn't changed," Sankey said at the APSE Southeast Region meeting
at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. "We're open to the conversation, but there
are a lot of ideas out there that have to be supported with analysis and
information, not speculation."
Sankey said all changes in college athletics must come with appropriate
research --- something he believes the SEC has provided in support of a
four-team expansion to 16. To Sankey, the Big Ten-backed plan and whether it
would offer much difference from 16 teams, is an unknown. A decision on the
2027 format would need to be made later this year.
The playoff expanded from four to 12 teams in 2024, and after decision-makers
failed to reach an expansion agreement, the CFP will use the same model for the
2026-27 season. The discussion carries major implications for the college
football schedule in general, including when it kicks off, the role of
still-lucrative conference championship games and when the season comes to a
close in January.
"We're trying to inform that with research. We've done that, from our
perspective, with 16," Sankey said. "We want to understand, through some
analytic support, games that matter in an expanded environment, and games that
might not matter."
Sankey cited Oklahoma's late push into the playoff last season as the
blueprint, saying it was "good for college football."
An NCAA committee last month recommended that Football Bowl Subdivision teams
play a 12-game schedule over 14 weeks beginning in 2027 with the season
starting on the Thursday of what is now designated Week Zero and ending the
Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Last week, the American Football Coaches Association proposed changes to the
schedule that included eliminating conference championship games, reducing
scheduled bye weeks from two to one and reducing the minimum number of days
between games to no fewer than six. Sankey suggested he was hearing different
from league coaches.
"The American Football Coaches Association without, like, picking up the phone
and having a conversation with those of us in the decision-making role, issues
a set of statements and says we want to get the season done earlier," said
Sankey, who contended the AFCA plan had "mutually exclusive" options. "And oh,
by the way, we just met with our football coaches, (who) said, ?If we're going
to go to Week Zero, two open weeks is the priority, not an earlier rush into
the postseason.' Two open weeks work for injury purposes, for recovery
purposes, for development purposes, is the priority."
Sankey did acknowledge a host of headaches when it comes to scheduling, with
power leagues moving to a nine-game conference schedule and the ongoing desire
to use non-conference dates as a chance for a marquee game to polish a CFP
resume. In March, President Donald Trump issued an exective order barring
postseason games from airing during the annual Army-Navy matchup in December;
the AFCA has since proposed a dedicated window for the Army-Navy game with
flexibility for other same-day games outside of the window.
The commissioner and AFCA are seemingly more aligned on that matter.
"We now have two executive orders about Army-Navy, and I think everyone wants
to honor Army-Navy, but you do have limits," he said. "Conference championship
games still exist, and there are contracts around those for the first week of
December, so plenty of opinions about whether they continue or not. Then you're
the Army-Navy game, then you're the NFL Saturday, and we've already infringed
upon that, and you can see the impact upon both sides --- ratings, the NFL and
college football on that Saturday. So where do you fit all the games?"
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
|
