SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is keeping his eyes on the changing landscape in college football.
With a potential 16-team College Football Playoff — which could include five SEC teams — Sankey told reporters the SEC expanding to eight or nine conference games could depend on the selection process.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Talks SEC Schedule
Sankey admitted that with the 16-team playoff likely coming, the conference is probably headed towards an eight-game conference schedule, but teams are concerned about bowl game appearances before adding more.
“I think the CFP selection process has become a much bigger deal,” Sankey said. “And, again, if you go back… I said CFP selection. We’re gonna go through this 16-team, eight-game, first time. We have schools that think about bowl games, primarily, in that, but the question is about the selection process, not criticism of the committee. But criteria and process are meaningful.”
Sankey and Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer voiced their issues with the selection committee last year, both claiming the Crimson Tide should have been the last team in the 12-team playoff.
“You’ve seen some say we should go back to the old way of the BCS,” Sankey said. “But is there some kind of in between of human and machine that can — we’ve got analytics.”
“You can’t just run down a College Football Playoff selection idea without thinking about, ‘Well if we play eight or nine games, what are the impacts? So that’s the depth of analysis. We also look at, and we’ll go through this tomorrow, whether people want to agree with it or not, that’s up to them, we can go through the analytics and who the rigor of our schedule is different than anyone else’s, period.”
An extra conference game could mean an extra loss for an SEC team, potentially costing them and the conference millions of dollars. But while more games will make it harder to make the playoff, it does mean more money headed to the conference through deals with television networks.
“One of the things we learned is, you’re not gonna divorce your regular-season schedule from College Football Playoff selection,” Sankey said. “In fact, I think there’s more of a feeling that regular-season scheduling is governed by College Football Playoff selection.”
KEEP READING: SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Blasts CFP for Ignoring Strength of Competition: ‘The Rigor of Our Schedule Is Different’
So whether or not the conference turns to a nine-game schedule, they’re certainly keeping everything in mind. With Sankey also hoping for two protected rivalry games for each SEC team, it could be a prosperous time for fans.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball!
