SEC's Sankey says CFP expansion not a foregone conclusion - ESPN

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The College Football Playoff's decision to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN last week may signal growing interest in a 24-team field, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said that expansion is not a foregone conclusion.

«We've participated in that conversation,» Sankey said Monday. «That doesn't mean expansion will happen. There's a media negotiation opportunity, which is an important piece of information, and then we'll have an opportunity, it would appear, later in the fall to make a decision about the future form.»

For much of the spring and summer, Sankey has pumped the brakes on a perceived ​momentum to expand the CFP field from 12 to 24. He has said that he's open to a discussion but that any decisions need to be informed by research.

Some of the questions he's had about expansion have been answered, he said prior to a speaking engagement at a Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham, but other questions still linger.

«And we've identified those that are central to our decision,» he explained.

Sankey said conference stakeholders met in Birmingham last month to talk about «strategic issues» including the playoff and overall postseason. Those discussions, he said, «produced our participation in this decision to go to the marketplace.»

«And then we refine — issues around schedule, issues around what might be the economics, issues around the regular season and having common expectations,» he added.

In other words: He'd like to see more standardized scheduling across conferences.

Reportedly, as part of a 24-team playoff, Sankey is seeking a requirement that all teams play at least 10 Power 4 games.

This past weekend, Sankey had a front-row seat to two of the biggest nonconference games of