SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on the benefits of the 9-game football schedule format

DESTIN, Fla. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has privately made it clear to his members that he wants the football schedule. And if his schools can’t come to an agreement this week at the SEC meetings, Sankey could step in and try to push the decision toward what he thinks is in the best interests of the conferences.

On the eve of the SEC meetings, Sankey wouldn’t say what that would mean to play nine games or stay in eight. But when he spoke to a small crowd of reporters on Monday night, you might have thought the commissioner favored going to nine games.

The premier league in college athletics isn’t standing still. And this is the premier league in college athletics, Sankey said. Now it is part of careful consideration whether the change will happen immediately. And deep consideration.

The focus of the debate is on two options: a nine-game schedule in which each team has three annual opponents, then alternate six more games; an eight-game schedule with one annual opponent and the other seven games rotating. Each option would allow each team to play every other team at least twice in four years. Each option also removes divisions.

Georgia president Jere Morehead, whose school is considered a nine-game favorite, said last week that the conferences’ media partner, ESPN, must receive more compensation if it adds a ninth conference game. But Sankey downplayed that Monday, saying at least it shouldn’t be a driving factor.

Money follows, it does not lead. If you’re just chasing money, you’re making really bad decisions, Sankey said, adding later: Money doesn’t just come from one source. If we only do one source of income, we would be in great danger. Ticket sales are a huge source of income. The importance of conference value and interest versus conference competition, there’s money there, not to mention media (compensation).

All along, the 9-game format has been the most likely outcome of the SEC schedule. But as the deadline nears, staying in 8 games remains a real possibility, and Georgia’s president stated the reason directly yesterday.https://t.co/RNpOlXTq0v

Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) May 26, 2023

Another aspect: maintaining the competition every year. In an eight-game format, Auburn and Georgia wouldn’t play every year, and neither would Tennessee and Alabama or Texas and Texas A&M.

They are huge games. Huge games, on the scale of college football games. Huge games, Sankey said. And we have the opportunity to play them every year or every other year. It’s not like you play them every 12 years.

To be clear, Sankey was careful not to reveal that his preference was nine. After the interview session, he noted that he wasn’t asked about the benefits of going eight games, so he pointed to what Kentucky and other eight-game proponents have been saying: more home games and an easier path to a bowl game.

But during the session, Sankey also offered counterpoints.

“When we’ve run the numbers, it’s not like we’ve seen massive eligibility come from a nine-game schedule,” Sankey said. And we also saw it in the year of COVID when we played 10, the interest in our games is high. We had a record number of viewers on our network that year, because we didn’t play similar games that evoke the same passion.

The SEC meetings begin on Tuesday with coaches and athletic directors meeting on Wednesday as well. The presidents will then arrive later in the week and hold the votes on Friday, when the vote on the schedule would take place. Oklahoma and Texas are present and have a voice in the room, but are not voting.

A simple majority will do, Sankey confirmed and said he was happy with that. But it must be the majority; Sankey would not break a 7-7 vote.

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If the SEC doesn’t go to a 9 game schedule, the criticism is valid

Therefore, the decision may not be made this week. There could also be an interim arrangement to at least decide the 2024 season: eight games, preserving the traditional rivalries and hoping for more clarity and a solid decision for 2025 and beyond. (The break could extend into 2025, as the new College Football Playoff deal, whenever it happens, would start in 2026 and should be more lucrative.)

One argument for the interim schedule is that if the SEC played nine games, every school would have to cancel at least one non-conference game in the 2024 season, and that’s overdue. Sankey called it a big problem.

However, making a decision right away this week is the best option.

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The odds of an 8-game SEC schedule or no vote have risen

I wouldn’t want to continue circling the airport with the plane and would rather land on it, Sankey said.

And if his schools remain divided, should Sankey just say that one option was in the best interest of the league?

Can be. Sure, he said. I purposely let the discussion take place without a position (in public). I’ve made it clear what I think should ultimately happen in the room.

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(Photo: Dale Zanine/USA Today)