Greg Sankey takes shot at NCAA, weighs in on state of CFP expansion

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on Wednesday was a guest speaker at the annual Learfield Intercollegiate Athletics Forum in Las Vegas.

Several items of discussion came up during the discussion, including, of course, the possibility of expanding the College Football Playoff. While it appears that it’s not a matter of if, but when the field will expand from 4 teams, there’s not yet been an agreement as to how many teams such a field would include and what format it would take. It looks like an expanded field won’t take place in time for the final 2 years of the current Playoff contract that is set to expire after the 2025 season.

Sankey, for his part, is committed to a 12-team Playoff field, even as half of the current teams in it this year are from his own conference:

Greg Sankey says even though there are disagreements about the 12-team model, it is still the best format for the sport going forward.

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) December 8, 2021

Greg Sankey on the current four-team CFP: "I've repeatedly said it works. It worked really well on Sunday."

Reminder: the SEC has two teams in for a second time in five years.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 8, 2021

Sankey also had a zinger ready when asked what the NCAA currently does well. In the spring, the organization faced major criticism in the differences in facilities and coverage used during the men’s college basketball tournament and those used for women.

“I would have said ‘championships’ a year ago and then we had the women’s basketball tournament reality. I would still say ‘championships’,” Sankey said.

Sydney Hunte

Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.