SEC power shift causes Power 5 commissioner to suggest pausing Playoff expansion
Some leagues are bracing for the newly expanded SEC with Texas and Oklahoma expected to be in tow in the coming years.
One of them is the Pac-12 and new commissioner George Kliavkoff, who spoke with Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports about how the SEC’s expansion will impact the proposed 12-team player in years to come.
“It’s certainly going to be readdressed,” Kliavkoff said. “Remember that was a two-year process done by four people. The proposal is good, but it’s not done. We’ve mis-set fans’ expectations that it’s going to move on a very fast timeline.”
Two sources told Dodd that the ramifications of the larger SEC are wide ranging.
“With 12 teams, we could just be watching a lot of SEC teams in the 12-team playoff,” a highly-placed Power Five source told CBS Sports.
One Power Five AD added: “Why on God’s green Earth would the Pac-12 and Big Ten hand over these (playoff) rights, which only strengthens the SEC?”
To others, it’s about sharing the financial pie.
A second Power Five AD agreed: “I don’t care if there are 10 SEC teams in; we just can’t make that a bonanza (every) year for them. You can’t strangle everybody else financially.”