CFP must be reconsidered amid realignment, SEC commish says - ESPN

As the winds of change continue to swirl in college athletics, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said more change is coming, particularly with regard to college football's postseason format, and reiterated that the SEC would not be reactionary to what the Big Ten or any other conference is doing.

«Right now, you put it in bold letters that things are going to change. Period,» Sankey told ESPN in a recent interview. «And we're all going to have to be prepared to deal with that change. Period.»

Sankey, one of 10 FBS commissioners who oversee the College Football Playoff along with Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, is convinced that the 12-team format, which he helped author and which was agreed upon for the 2024 season, needs to be reexamined. Per that format, the six highest-ranked conference champions by the playoff committee would make the playoff, along with the next six highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions would earn the top seeds and a first-round bye.

But with the Pac-12 soon down to four teams with Oregon and Washington heading to the Big Ten and Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado leaving for the Big 12, Sankey said «we need to rethink» the playoff model with college football's landscape changing so dramatically. There's also a push by some to get Cal and Stanford in the ACC, and Florida State's president has said the Seminoles will look to leave the ACC if they don't receive a larger portion of the revenue being generated in that league.

«The circumstances have changed, and we need to reconsider the format,» Sankey said. «I'm not convinced we need to reconsider the number of teams, and I've been clear that I would have been OK with an eight-team playoff with no conference