No Consensus Among SEC Coaches Over CFP Expansion

DESTIN, Fla. — SEC coaches have not reached a consensus over their ideal format for the next iteration of the College Football Playoff—or whether they want the postseason to expand at all, according to several coaches who visited with media members ahead of the conference’s annual spring meetings Tuesday.

CFP expansion is one of the buzziest topics in Destin this year, as the commissioners of the SEC and Big Ten must reach a consensus on an expansion model by Dec. 1 in order for a new bracket to be unveiled in 2027. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has said his league is set on a 24-team format, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has favored 16 teams.

On Monday, Sankey said not to expect a decision on expansion this week, telling reporters the league would review the potential scenarios of an expansion for now. 

But Tuesday revealed a variety of opinions. 

When asked by Front Office Sports whether he would prefer 16 or 24 teams, Florida coach Jon Sumrall said “probably 24.” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said: “As many as we can have and make it make sense,” while not giving a specific number. Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, who came out in favor of expansion last year beyond 24 teams, appeared to defer to Sankey’s judgment. 

Still others, like Georgia’s Kirby Smart, simply said they didn’t know, or haven’t given the expanded CFP much thought. “What’s your driving factor?” Smart said. “Is it totally revenue? Is it TV? Is it the student-athletes that are playing forever? It’s like, what is your main purpose?”

Several coaches were skeptical an agreement could actually be reached. “Last year, we were told if we went to nine (conference) games, the Big Ten was going to vote to go to a 16-team Playoff in 2026,” Drinkwitz said. Obviously, that didn’t happen. (Sankey himself also noted on Monday that the 16-team idea didn’t originally come from the SEC, though it appears to be the one he favors.)

What coaches were more unanimous about was wanting to preserve the SEC conference championship game in the face of expansion. The comments were notable given conversations across multiple leagues about nixing these games to make way for an expanded playoff. Coaches spoke about the pageantry of the game, but also its financial value.

Smart, for example, acknowledged that the conference championship may get in the way of an expanded playoff model, but cautioned against eliminating it unless there was enough revenue to make up for it. 

“I’m really more worried about the financial burden that we’re under right now, of paying for all of the athletic departments,” Smart said. “When you take that revenue stream out [the SEC Championship game], can we make it work? And is it sustainable to do without it?” 

One other thing the coaches agreed on: They don’t have much power in the CFP decision-making process. Ultimately, athletic directors and university presidents will be the formal voices on the subject helping Sankey decide how the conference wants to move forward.

Auburn coach Alex Golesh noted he was a newcomer to the league and therefore not expected to be a voice of authority on the subject, saying “Nobody in that room cares about what I think about the college football playoff.”

Texas A&M’s Mike Elko put it bluntly: “I don’t know why you guys ask us. It doesn’t matter what we think.”