MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — SEC commissioner Greg Sankey walked into a room of reporters nearly two years ago to face a deluge of questions about his discussions with coaches and athletic directors about conference scheduling.
It had been a long, arduous few days locked in windowless rooms adjacent to the beautiful emerald coast. The commissioner was ready for a resolution.
“I would prefer to not continue to circle the airport with the airplane. I’d prefer to land it,” he said in May 2023.
Two years later, the conference still doesn’t have an answer. It might not until the fall.
The SEC’s years-long contemplation on whether to move from eight to nine league games is still at an impasse here on the white sandy beaches after yet another round of spring meetings. The league’s decision is heavily dependent on the future format of the College Football Playoff, and a uneasy reality is now settling over the league: administrators might have to make a decision on scheduling before the CFP’s executives decide which one of two popular and wildly-different 16-team formats they adopt for the 2026 season.
“The pressure point for us is we’re going to have to make a decision about our ’26 schedule in a time frame that is shorter than what would be the very specific deadline for making CFP decisions,” Sankey said Wednesday. “I’d like to see CFP decisions made in a time efficient manner. Not a great history of that, by the way. But I’m not sure that we can work through our obligations in as time efficient as I’d like.”
Who wants what from a 16-team playoff?
| Stakeholder Group | Preferred Model |
|---|---|
| Big Ten (ADs) | 4-4-2-2-1 |
| SEC (ADs) | 4-4-2-2-1 |
| SEC (Coaches) | 5+11 (Leaning towards it) |
| Big 12 (ADs) | 5+11 |
| ACC (ADs) | 5+11 |
The CFP’s deadline to make a decision is believed to be Dec. 1. SEC administrators want a resolution on its scheduling model by Week 1 of the upcoming football season.
The SEC requires only a majority of votes to pass a resolution on conference scheduling, but more coaches have voiced concerns about increasing games in light of the CFP leaving out three-loss Alabama and South Carolina in the first iteration of the 12-team playoff.
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Texas and Oklahoma have long sought nine conference games, but discussions this week at the Hilton in Sandestin prompted further consideration among colleagues (the Red River rivals, who play at a neutral site, would love to add an SEC foe to their home schedule in place of a bottom-feeder). The crux of the issue is the data on the CFP’s selection process and what it might look like in 2026 and beyond, particularly with a new 16-team model. Several models were presented to coaches and ADs, with many seeing the scenarios impacting the SEC for the first time.
“We’re all wanting to get to a vote, but if there are still some moving parts, we want to make sure they stop moving before we make a final decision,” Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione told CBS Sports on Tuesday.
CFP executives are focused primarily on two models.
The 4-4-2-2-1 format introduced by the Big Ten includes four automatic qualifiers for the Big Ten and SEC; two AQs for the ACC and Big 12; one AQ for the highest-ranked Group of Six champion; and three at-large selections.
SEC coaches voiced this week, however, that they prefer a 5+11 model, with five AQs for conference champions and 11 at-large selections. That pushback from the coaches surprised athletic directors, who overwhelmingly favor the four automatic qualifiers for the SEC. The dissension was so great that it prompted a call among Big Ten athletic directors to discuss the development in the SEC on Wednesday, according to Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, Big 12 athletic directors reiterated on Wednesday during meetings in Orlando that they are “aligned on our preference” for a 5+11 model, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told CBS Sports.
The Big Ten has long favored the model with four AQs, and, along with the SEC’s athletic directors, have pitted themselves in an unintended battle against the ACC and Big 12, which prefer the 5+11 format.
“I, personally, if we get where we can with playoff (selection), think 9 (SEC) games makes sense but it doesn’t make sense if we’re not guaranteed (playoff spots),” Texas A&M athletics director Trev Alberts said Tuesday.
The problem, of course, is that the SEC’s ADs prefer to wait until the CFP’s format is finalized.
That might not happen. CFP executives are scheduled to meet in person June 18, but commissioners are not hopeful a decision will be made at that time.
Money is not the issue for the SEC. ESPN is believed to be offering each school an average of more than $5 million for an additional league game on the schedule, as CBS Sports reported in May 2024. The model with four AQs would also allow the SEC to pursue two playoff play-in games during championship weekend in early December, which would increase broadcast inventory for ESPN and fatten the SEC’s pocketbook. Coaches, however, are mixed on that prospect as well, and many believe the CFP committee punishes teams for losing more than winning.
“A committee is not ideal to choose a postseason,” said Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin, who served on the CFP’s selection committee from 2018 through 2021. “I question whether it is appropriate for college football.”
If you couldn’t tell by now, the SEC’s annual spring meetings have morphed into a thought exercise more than an event to make significant decisions in recent years. On Wednesday, LSU coach Brian Kelly said he and other coaches endorsed developing a scheduling pact with the Big Ten that would give each SEC team one non-conference game against the power conference.
Sankey said such a “mandate” would be “incredibly difficult” to develop with the Big Ten. “I understand the position,” he said. “That’s a long row to hoe to get to the end of that particular row.”
With so many opinions, pushback and uncertainty heading into June – -and with a full docket of other issues led by the pending approval of the landmark antitrust lawsuit that will open the door for revenue-sharing with players — could the SEC’s schedule and the CFP’s format remain the same for ’26 with so much uncertainty facing the sport this late in the process?
“Can I see a scenario? Sure, I can see a scenario. But is that the most likely scenario? Come back for more,” Sankey teased near the end of a lengthy press conference Wednesday.
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