SEC Push for More CFP Power Draws Congressional Attention

The accelerating separation of the SEC from the rest of college sports is becoming even more stark as commissioner Greg Sankey has taken several fresh shots against two other power conferences—as well as the broader status quo.

Amid ongoing discussion about a potential further expansion of the College Football Playoff and a move to a straight-seeding model for 2025, Sankey criticized the Big 12 and ACC, which both supported the shift. 

“I don’t need lectures from others about the good of the game … coordinated press releases about the good of the game,” Sankey said at the conference’s spring meeting in Florida. “I’m looking for ideas to move us forward.”

Sankey, however, then went even further, also suggesting a governance model in college sports in which the SEC, along with the other three power conferences, would have even more control.

“[The] SEC has asked for more autonomy for the four [power] conferences,” Sankey said. “I don’t have the authority to just depart [the NCAA]. I’ve shared with the decision-making working group that I have people in my room asking, ‘Why are we still in the NCAA?’”

The Big 12 rejected Sankey’s suggestions regarding the CFP.

“There was no press release from the Big 12—let alone a coordinated one with the ACC—regarding straight seeding,” said the conference’s VP of communications and strategy, Clark Williams, in a social media post. 

The public back-and-forth, however, shows the mounting pressure to land coveted CFP slots—which have been worth $4 million to conferences for each first-round berth, an $8 million guarantee for those receiving initial byes, and then another $6 million for each school that reaches the semifinals and for each school in the national championship game. The 2025 model will see the four highest-ranked teams earning first-round byes, but the conferences with the four highest-ranked champions will still pocket the automatic $8 million payout, even if their champion is not ranked inside the top four.

Momentum continues to grow toward a potential CFP expansion to 16 teams, something that Sankey said “has had more traction in my league than I would’ve anticipated.” Within that is a much-discussed model in which the SEC and Big Ten would each have four automatic bids, while the ACC and Big Ten each get two, leaving just four for the rest of college football. 

The football situation additionally parallels what’s already happening in men’s basketball, with the SEC recently landing a record 14 spots in March Madness, including eventual champion Florida, with a similarly unprecedented $70 million haul from the tournament. The March Madness situation created an absurdity in which an ultimately declined NIT invitation was extended to the SEC’s 20-loss, last-place South Carolina.

Political Attention 

A move by the SEC and Big Ten to separate further from the rest of college sports is already ringing alarm bells among some lawmakers. While concern continues over the many implications of the proposed House v. NCAA settlement, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.) threatened further inquiry. 

“Let me state this as clearly as I can: the Big Ten and SEC should be very, very careful about some of the decisions they are about to make,” Boyle said in a social media post. “Because they appear hellbent on ruining major college football, I think they need congressional hearings into their collusion.”