SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Thursday that regardless of what happens in Saturday’s conference championship game between No. 1 Georgia and No. 8 Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, at least one of the member schools deserves to be selected for the College Football Playoff.
Should the Bulldogs lose to the Crimson Tide, there is the possibility that an SEC school will not be invited to the four-team playoff by the CFP selection committee Sunday. At least one SEC school has competed in the past nine playoffs.
“I think the level of football here is the highest that can be played,” he said. “Our success is unparalleled. It’s envied by everyone else.”
Sankey pointed out that an SEC team has lost only once in a semifinal to a team from another conference, and twice in the championship game. Georgia is the two-time defending national champion. It beat the Big Ten′s Ohio State in last season’s semifinals and the Big 12′s TCU for the title. In 2021, Georgia defeated the Big Ten′s Michigan in the semifinals and the SEC’s Alabama for the title.
“The only other losses we’ve experienced are to ourselves in the national championship game, and that’s the entirety of our record as a basis for the assurance that we will have a team in the CFP for the 10th consecutive year,” he said.
Sankey shed light on a few other items during his 30-minute conference:
The full SEC schedule for 2024 will be released Dec. 13, and Sankey seemed unhappy that a few games have been reported, saying he looks forward to the presentation on ESPN and the SEC Network “continuing perhaps with a higher level of confidentiality, though.”
The conference is exploring the use of wearable technology for the 2024 season in light of “recent events,” an allusion to the alleged sign-stealing at Michigan. “We look to the opportunity to work more closely with the NCAA football rules committee to see what may be possible for the 2024 football season,” he said.
With the additions of Texas and Oklahoma, Sankey said the conference is exploring whether to play an eight- or nine-game conference schedule, while also factoring in that the playoff is expanding to 12 teams, maintaining rivalries, and trying to make sure as many teams as possible can become bowl-eligible.
Sankey said he and other conference commissioners are lobbying Congress for national uniformity to name, image and likeness (NIL).
“We fully respect the important issues on the on the agenda for Congress, both in the House and the Senate, and those that face the White House and the White House administration, yet it’s still important for us to continue this dialogue with a desire to return some national standards for the conduct of college athletics,” he said.
Here are more topics covered by Sankey, with questions and answers edited for brevity and clarity:
Q: What will be the TV windows for ABC broadcasts next season?
A: One of the opportunities that’s created with our new agreement is the ability to have more than only one game a day on broadcast TV.
The best game of the day might be in prime time with great frequency. We will always have a 3:30 p.m. Eastern time SEC game broadcast on ABC, but a little bit more variability and a lot more access.
When we arrive at media days, we expect to have right around half of our total season games identified for certain broadcast windows, working with ESPN, ABC and the SEC Network, the opportunity to know the noon Eastern time kickoffs throughout the season will allow our campuses and our fans to plan rather than having those six-day and 12-day experiences around that early kickoff.
Q: Any worry that hosting a conference championship could hurt the possibility of the SEC having multiple teams in the expanded 12-team playoff?
A: I don’t use the word “worry.” We certainly think about it. We have had conversations about what it may mean. I’ve referenced the need to continue to think through the schedule in a big-picture sort of way. I don’t narrow it down to only conference championship games because I think what we have created, first, has been the envy of others, so now all have a conference championship game, following our lead.
It provides a rallying point for your season. Certainly a level of excitement on Saturday that will be remarkable by comparison. I think that can continue into the future knowing how much SEC championships mean to each of our football programs.
Q: Is there a possibility of the SEC playing a football game in Mexico?
A: The complexities around relocating games from our campuses are real. We have had general conversations about that possibility. But for some, moving a game that might be attended, I don’t know, by 20 or 30,000 people, is a bit easier than relocating a game from a stadium that has 100, 103, 105, 108,000 fans attended.
And so the impact on our communities has been much more of our focus — providing access to those games through stadium upgrades I know is on the minds of our athletics directors. Continuing to provide international access so people can feel and experience our games remains a conversation point.
Q: Can you explain why the playoffs didn’t expand to 12 teams for this season?
A: No. That’s a simple answer. I was part of a working group to look at a range of options. We were over 60 different models contemplated. We settled on the 12 because it met a lot of the considerations, priorities and asks. I’m excited about the future. I was one who thought this was appropriate. And the fact that didn’t happen more timely is ... that’s just life. We’ve got four (teams in the playoff now). We’re excited about the four, and we look forward to the 12 (teams in the future).
Q: Depending on the success of Texas with the Big 12 championship and possibly making the playoffs, how does their success help the SEC going into next year?
A: Both (Texas and Oklahoma) will fit into these rivalries. They’ll be in new places and new experiences. We will send our teams to Austin (Texas) and Norman (Oklahoma), many of them for the first time. It is going to be an incredible season in ‘24 and incredible future for the Southeastern Conference as a 16-member league.
