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Greg Sankey weighs in on future of bowl system, praises LSU for playing short-handed
By Keith Farner
Published:
Greg Sankey was at the Texas Bowl on Tuesday night when LSU lost to Kansas State as the Tigers fielded just 38 scholarship players.
The SEC commissioner was a guest on The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday and shared his thoughts on the future of the bowl system amid College Football Playoff expansion, the transfer portal and bowl opt-outs. Sankey said the SEC has participated in a number of healthy bowl experiences and cited the Birmingham Bowl and the Gasparilla Bowl.
“There’s still health in the bowl system, and I think the 12-team format can permit bowls to exist,” Sankey said. “But we’re now experiencing opt outs, we’re experiencing NFL early draft decisions, which drive people to different participation routes. We’ve had the coaching coaches that have been publicized that are happening earlier attributable to Early Signing Day. So bowls are now different. They’re still competitive. Even last night, watching LSU’s team, the utmost of respect for young people that stepped up, competed right up to the tick of that very last clock with a touchdown and maybe it’s a reminder of some of the things we’ve forgotten.”
Sankey said he has a meeting set for later in January with SEC athletics directors, and they plan to support a healthy bowl structure as they have in the past.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
