Greg Sankey hopes for a resolution to the SEC football schedule soon

DESTIN, Fla. – SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey wouldn’t say for sure whether the league would vote at its spring meetings this week on whether to use an eight- or nine-game conference schedule in football, but he said he has already “made it clear what I think ultimately should happen” and that he would like to have a resolution soon.

“I wouldn’t want to continue going around the airport with the plane,” he said Monday.

However, the decision can be difficult, as schools seem to be divided on which timetable formula is the most useful. Questions about bowl eligibility, level of competition and television revenue are expected to be part of the discussion. The upcoming expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams is also a factor. The two schedules at the center of the debate are an eight-game conference schedule with one permanent opponent and seven rotating opponents, and a nine-game schedule with three permanent opponents and six rotating opponents.

Sankey has said in the past that the focus on future scheduling does not include divisions.

Sankey said Monday that he’s already privately indicated he wants an eight- or nine-game schedule, but he’s purposely allowing the conversation to take place among the 14 member schools.

The result of the vote is determined by a simple majority (eight schools).

“The league at the top of college athletics is not standing still,” Sankey said.

The SEC currently plays an eight-game conference schedule, albeit with an East and West division (six divisional games plus two rotating cross-divisions).

“This is the premier league in college athletics,” Sankey continued. “Now, whether the change will happen immediately is part of the careful and deep consideration. You can make arguments about both [scheduling models], but I’m looking at a different reality—major league baseball, which can be more challenging than our football. The content of our games and the opportunities created are not minimized by playing each other more frequently. We maximized it because of the strength of the schedule. Soccer is the same thing.

“Is the bowl eligibility issue absolute? We’ve done predictive analytics. It’s actually a marginal change. Now, maybe in practice on the front line, it feels like a significant change, but when we’ve run the numbers, it’s not like we’re going to have a massive bowl ineligibility for a nine-game schedule.”

Sankey cited the 2020 season, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the SEC played a 10-game, conference-only schedule.

“Interest in our games is high,” he said. “Our network viewership was at a record level that year because we weren’t playing the same kind of games that don’t generate the passion that conference games do. I also know that when you look at the economics — the ticket pricing around high-level conference games is very different than the FCS or the Group of 5 -games, so these are elements that are a priority for me.

“That doesn’t mean everyone agrees with that point of view, but those are elements that will continue to be part of the conversation.”

The scheduling issue includes the ability to maintain competitive games. An eight-game schedule with one consistent opponent would jeopardize certain historic rivalries, such as Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia.

Rounding out the schedule are the additions of Texas and Oklahoma in 2024. Representatives from the two schools, which are still in the Big 12, will be at the spring meetings for the first time this week.

They are participants, but do not have voting rights until their membership is fully active on July 1, 2024.

“I think that’s an important element for us as we think about our future,” Sankey said. “2024 is a huge year to move away from CBS and expand to 16 [teams]College Football Playoff [expanding to 12 teams]. Not to mention everything that happens around us. So I think it’s an important opportunity for relationship building, important information sharing.”