If you’ve been wondering whether anyone in power still gives a rip about the integrity of college football or the fans who’ve fueled it for generations, Greg Sankey just answered that question loud and clear: he doesn’t.
The SEC commissioner isn’t hiding behind fancy language or pretending to play nice with the other conferences. In fact, his latest comments make one thing brutally obvious—he’s only interested in whatever makes the SEC richer, stronger, and more powerful. And if the rest of the sport burns in the process? So be it.
The new reported 16-team playoff format proposal doesn’t just tilt the scales—it flips the whole table. With four guaranteed spots each for the SEC and Big Ten, two for the ACC and Big 12, one token slot for the best Group of Five team, and only three at-large bids left over, it’s obvious what’s happening here. Sankey is engineering a system that gives his conference as much access—and as much money—as possible. Everything else is just noise.
This Isn’t About College Football—It’s About Control
Let’s not sugarcoat this. Sankey isn’t trying to grow the sport. He’s trying to corner the market. The fans who pour their hearts (and wallets) into college football? They’re background characters in this power play. If you’re not wearing an SEC logo — or at least buddies with him through the Big Ten patch — you don’t matter in Sankey’s world.
It’s not even subtle anymore. The commissioner mocked the idea that other leagues are trying to protect the integrity of the game, scoffing at their joint statements and calls for fairness. Meanwhile, ACC coaches, ADs, and even their commissioner are raising serious concerns about a future where the same handful of teams dominate every postseason.
But Sankey couldn’t care less. He sees college football as a business, and he’s building a monopoly. If fans are sick of seeing the same teams every year? Too bad. If other conferences are worried about being shut out? Not his problem. As long as the SEC keeps cashing bigger checks, Sankey will keep pulling the strings and brushing off the rest of the country like they’re irrelevant.
Greg Sankey isn’t just unapologetic—he’s emboldened. And he’s letting the rest of college football know that the days of equal footing and shared opportunity are over.
This isn’t about the good of the game. It’s about the good of the SEC.
And if that ruins what made college football special? So be it.