SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Advocates for 16-Team College Football Playoff

With a new College Football Playoff (CFP) format deadline closing in, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is now pushing harder for a 16-team field. It’s a bit of a shift for him; not long ago, he said the SEC would be fine sticking with 12 teams if they couldn’t hammer out a deal by December 1.

Honestly, not much has changed since the summer, so keeping things at 12 teams for 2026 still looks pretty likely. Even so, Sankey hasn’t given up hope—he’s quoted movies and all, just to say there’s still a shot at a new agreement.

He’s also been vocal about scrapping automatic qualifiers for conference champs, preferring an all at-large field. He knows that’s a tough sell, though.

The SEC’s in a strong spot for this year’s playoff. Several teams are right in the mix, which just shows how deep and competitive the conference is right now.

The Push for a 16-Team College Football Playoff

Sankey’s been making noise about the need to bump the College Football Playoff up to 16 teams. In his view, that should be a top priority for college football.

He says a bigger field means more competition and more teams with a real shot. It’s a bit of a pivot for him, since he’d previously said the SEC could live with 12 teams if they had to.

Why Expand to 16 Teams?

Sankey thinks a 16-team playoff would level the playing field. The current format, with automatic spots for conference champs, doesn’t always get the best teams in.

He’d rather see an all at-large setup, but he admits that’s probably not realistic given how things work in college football right now.

• More Competitive Games: With more teams, you’d get more exciting matchups—something fans would love.
• Increased Parity: Expansion could help even things out, letting more teams dream about a national title.
• Financial Benefits: More games? More money. That’s just how it goes for teams and the NCAA.

The Current State of the SEC

Talks about the CFP’s future aside, the SEC is still a juggernaut. This year, the conference has a handful of teams with impressive records.

They’re sitting pretty for the current playoff setup.

Depth and Competitiveness

Sankey points out how deep the SEC is. Games are being decided by an average of just 10.3 points—lower than the NFL, actually.

That stat really shows how competitive things are. Even the so-called bottom teams can give the favorites a run for their money.

• Close Games: Tight scores prove just how fierce the competition is in the SEC.
• Upsets and Comebacks: This season’s seen some wild swings, like Texas A&M storming back to beat South Carolina after trailing 30-3 at halftime.

Challenges and Realities

The idea of a 16-team playoff sounds great, but it’s not exactly simple to pull off. Sankey admits that getting rid of automatic qualifiers in favor of all at-large bids probably isn’t happening anytime soon.

Group of 5 Teams

There’s also the issue of Group of 5 teams. Sankey says their involvement has been good in some ways, but it can get tricky if it means higher-ranked teams get left out.

This year, the top Group of 5 champ might not even be ranked, which kind of makes you wonder if the system’s really fair.

• Fairness: Making sure the best teams get in is key for keeping the playoff legit.
• Representation: Striking the right balance between different conferences and teams? Still a puzzle.

Potential Outcomes

If a new agreement is reached, college football could look pretty different. A 16-team playoff would add a whole new level of excitement and give more teams a shot.

On the other hand, if talks stall, the current 12-team setup stays put. That means not much changes, at least for now.

• Expansion: Moving to 16 teams would probably draw in more viewers and boost revenue. That’s good news for just about everyone involved.
• Status Quo: Keeping things as they are might feel safer, but it doesn’t really tackle the concerns people like Sankey keep bringing up.

If you want to dig deeper into Greg Sankey’s perspective and all the back-and-forth about the playoff format, check out the full article on The New York Times.