SEC commissioner Greg Sankey does not see 12-team playoff starting before 2026, but he will try

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

AUSTIN, Texas – Do not count on the new, 12-team College Football Playoff to start before 2026 as of this point. That’s the message Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey shared at halftime of the game between No. 1 Alabama and Texas on Saturday.

"The 2026 season," he said when asked what was the most likely year that the new format would begin.

Head Coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs shakes hands with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey after the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 33-18 in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 10, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

"But we’ve been told to go back and look to see if it can happen for 2024 or 2025, and that’s undone," Sankey said. "The best chance is ’26. We’ll work on ’24 and ’25. Whether it happens, that remains to be seen. I really sense from the presidents a much bigger motivation. Whether or not, again, we can make it happen early, I don’t know. When you have clarity at the presidential level, it’s certainly a motivating factor."

COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 2 PREVIEW: TEXAS WELCOMES NO. 1 ALABAMA TO AUSTIN, TOP-25 SEC BATTLE IN GAINESVILLE

Sankey quickly pushed off any talk of eliminating various conference championship games when the new playoff format adds more games at the end of the regular season.

Not Going Anywhere

"I think so. Those have relevance, meaning," he said. "You’ve got to determine a conference champion. There are going to be conference champions."

(L-R) College Basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale receives an autographed basketball from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey prior to the start