SEC commissioner Greg Sankey can save college football. Will he?

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What a joke. The SEC makes the first (and surprising) move to 16 teams, the B1G does the same thing a year later, and Matt Hayes argues the SEC can be the savior to stop the expansion madness? A quick review of Matt Hayes writing shows he is an absolute SEC/Greg Sankey f***boi (link to his article list).

Here are a few gems from his articles over the last two years:

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...-get-an-expanded-playoff-with-or-without-you/

Greg Sankey, SEC commissioner and the most powerful man in college football, took to the stage and congratulated Georgia on its national title.

…

Make no mistake, the move of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC wasn’t made in a vacuum. It was made with an eye to the future of college sports and specifically college football.

…

The future of revenue generation is marketable marquee games. That’s why the SEC added Oklahoma and Texas and why the SEC could add more marketable teams – if pushed into the decision.
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https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/s...e-sec-aint-worried-about-no-stinkin-alliance/

1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but I’ve had just about enough of this crap.

If Texas and Oklahoma had come to the Big Ten, ACC or Pac-12 and asked to be considered for conference affiliation, any of the three would’ve had the identical response of the SEC:

Is this a trick question?

…

Because the big, bad SEC said yes to Texas and Oklahoma, because the SEC had the vision to see where college football is headed – we all know damn well you can’t have a billion (or more)-a-year Playoff and not pay players — the remaining Autonomy 5 conferences are going to take their ball and stomp their feet until mean ol’ Greg Sankey says he’s sorry.

Or something like that.

…

Best I can tell is the Big Ten is using the Pac-12 and the ACC to help slow down the SEC’s takeover of all things college football.
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Yet he paints the B1G and Kevin Warren as the bad guys for expanding to 16 teams. This guy is a clown suckling at the SEC's teat and dreaming of doing unspeakable things to Greg Sankey.
 

the SEC has ESPN and a number of media members in its corner.

that is a lot of propaganda being issued in its favor.
 

I actually think it’s Notre Dame who has the power to put an end, at least in the near future, to further conference expansion. If Notre Dame were to fully commit to the ACC, then I think everyone else would sit tight for a while. We have already seen plenty of reports that would indicate that adding Oregon, Washington or Stanford might actually mean less money per team payout in the Big10 if you added them. I think we could be at the peak of the bell curve for expansion in that regard, unless the Big10 has already assured USC and UCLA that they will add at least 1-2 more schools from the pac-12 at some point, pending a ND decision, to help ease the travel for school and fans.

Now, I think the odds of ND going to the ACC fully are less than 10% unless ESPN steps up and renegotiated the ACC’s tv deal. I think the odds of that are even less likely than ND committing to the ACC.

Sankey can say whatever he wants and it doesn’t matter. He’s in a weak position here. Notre Dame will never join the SEC. All he can do is sit back and watch what the Irish do. If ND does join the Big10, the Big10 has to add at least 1 more team because a 17 team league is a disaster to schedule around. Honestly, 18 isn’t great either. Twenty teams would work best and Sankey, like everyone else, can do nothing but wait until the Irish decide.
 
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U2Gopher said:
I actually think it’s Notre Dame who has the power to put an end, at least in the near future, to further conference expansion. If Notre Dame were to fully commit to the ACC, then I think everyone else would sit tight for a while. We have already seen plenty of reports that would indicate that adding Oregon, Washington or Stanford might actually mean less money per team payout in the Big10 if you added them. I think we could be at the peak of the bell curve for expansion in that regard, unless the Big10 has already assured USC and UCLA that they will add at least 1-2 more schools from the pac-12 at some point, pending a ND decision, to help ease the travel for school and fans.

Now, I think the odds of ND going to the ACC fully are less than 10% unless ESPN steps up and renegotiated the ACC’s tv deal. I think the odds of that are even less likely than ND committing to the ACC.

Sankey can say whatever he wants and it doesn’t matter. He’s in a weak position here. Notre Dame will never join the SEC. All he can do is sit back and watch what the Irish do. If ND does join the Big10, the Big10 has to add at least 1 more team because a 17 team league is a disaster to schedule around. Honestly, 18 isn’t great either. Twenty teams would work best and Sankey, like everyone else, can do nothing but wait until the Irish decide.
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I don't know what the percentages are, but I think ND anchoring the ACC is much higher than you think.
 


nitramnaed said:
I don't know what the percentages are, but I think ND anchoring the ACC is much higher than you think.
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Philosophically, I think you are right. But I think it’s going to be much more about the dollars, and the ACC doesn’t have that unless Notre Dame can leverage some sort of tv contract renegotiation for the league. One would think it would have to come close to the SEC’s or the Big10’s deal in terms of dollars for it to be worth ND’s efforts. I don’t know why ESPN would do that. They have put all of their eggs in the SEC’s basket and the ACC, even with ND, isn’t a league that deserves the dollars the SEC or the Big10 are getting.
 

matt said:
What a joke. The SEC makes the first (and surprising) move to 16 teams, the B1G does the same thing a year later, and Matt Hayes argues the SEC can be the savior to stop the expansion madness? A quick review of Matt Hayes writing shows he is an absolute SEC/Greg Sankey f***boi (link to his article list).

Here are a few gems from his articles over the last two years:





Yet he paints the B1G and Kevin Warren as the bad guys for expanding to 16 teams. This guy is a clown suckling at the SEC's teat and dreaming of doing unspeakable things to Greg Sankey.
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Mighty good research.
 

College football has changed from the early days of no helmets, the leather helmets, the forward pass, etc and it will continue to survive without the "help" of ESPN and its subsidiary, the SEC.
 




U2Gopher said:
I actually think it’s Notre Dame who has the power to put an end, at least in the near future, to further conference expansion. If Notre Dame were to fully commit to the ACC, then I think everyone else would sit tight for a while. We have already seen plenty of reports that would indicate that adding Oregon, Washington or Stanford might actually mean less money per team payout in the Big10 if you added them. I think we could be at the peak of the bell curve for expansion in that regard, unless the Big10 has already assured USC and UCLA that they will add at least 1-2 more schools from the pac-12 at some point, pending a ND decision, to help ease the travel for school and fans.

Now, I think the odds of ND going to the ACC fully are less than 10% unless ESPN steps up and renegotiated the ACC’s tv deal. I think the odds of that are even less likely than ND committing to the ACC.

Sankey can say whatever he wants and it doesn’t matter. He’s in a weak position here. Notre Dame will never join the SEC. All he can do is sit back and watch what the Irish do. If ND does join the Big10, the Big10 has to add at least 1 more team because a 17 team league is a disaster to schedule around. Honestly, 18 isn’t great either. Twenty teams would work best and Sankey, like everyone else, can do nothing but wait until the Irish decide.
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ESPN has the ACC worked over good. Through 2036, they get some pretty strong content, including Notre Dame in non-football and when Notre Dame plays at ACC teams, for what will quickly become a pretty paltry, bargain price per year.

They have absolutely zero incentive to open up and renegotiate that deal.

Unless, like it has been reported (but who knows how legit the conjecture is), six or more ACC teams approach ESPN and say "F This S, we're outta here and good luck trying to stop us. We'll see you in court."
 

U2Gopher said:
I actually think it’s Notre Dame who has the power to put an end, at least in the near future, to further conference expansion. If Notre Dame were to fully commit to the ACC, then I think everyone else would sit tight for a while. We have already seen plenty of reports that would indicate that adding Oregon, Washington or Stanford might actually mean less money per team payout in the Big10 if you added them. I think we could be at the peak of the bell curve for expansion in that regard, unless the Big10 has already assured USC and UCLA that they will add at least 1-2 more schools from the pac-12 at some point, pending a ND decision, to help ease the travel for school and fans.

Now, I think the odds of ND going to the ACC fully are less than 10% unless ESPN steps up and renegotiated the ACC’s tv deal. I think the odds of that are even less likely than ND committing to the ACC.

Sankey can say whatever he wants and it doesn’t matter. He’s in a weak position here. Notre Dame will never join the SEC. All he can do is sit back and watch what the Irish do. If ND does join the Big10, the Big10 has to add at least 1 more team because a 17 team league is a disaster to schedule around. Honestly, 18 isn’t great either. Twenty teams would work best and Sankey, like everyone else, can do nothing but wait until the Irish decide.
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I don’t think ND has that much pull.

ND joins the ACC then only…. maybe… the ACC feels a little more confident…. maybe.


Everyone else has the same motivations.
 

nitramnaed said:
I don't know what the percentages are, but I think ND anchoring the ACC is much higher than you think.
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I think the Irish will learn from Texas that an anchor only brings you down...Texas had all the benefits and control and still bolted for the SEC.
 

I still believe Notre Dame will join the Big Ten, it's just a question of time and how much Notre Dame wants to play victim before they do join.
 



Face The Facts said:
I still believe Notre Dame will join the Big Ten, it's just a question of time and how much Notre Dame wants to play victim before they do join.
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And the time could be determined by the nervousness of the other ACC schools to stay in a sinking ship. Will be some to B1G and some to SEC. Easy to figure out who those will be. The B1G rights announcement may be the last straw for them.
 

Thanks for posting. To me, the SEC's strength boils down to how relatively tight the conference's geography is (Missouri doesn't make a ton of sense). I get that the B1G wanted the eastern media markets when adding Rutgers and Maryland, but I wonder if the conference brain wizards would do that again in view of what is happening now. It looks like college football is going to be thrown into the metaphorical blender over the next few years and we'll just have to wait until the situation is fully pureed.
 


I hate Notre Dame. Not on the level of the Badgers or the Hawkeyes....but up near the top of the list. If they were to join the ACC fully....I would definitely have to rescind some of my hatred. It would buoy that conference and make leaping to either the Big Ten or the SEC less of a jump. Could put further expansion at a stall for at least a little while.

However...I just don't see it happening. If Notre Dame were to give up football independence....I really think it would be to join the Big Ten.
 

Why would any team leave their conference or their independent status, and not go to the Big Ten first?

More money. More prestige. SEC has a slight advantage right now in talent / competitiveness, but for teams looking for a move, that could be a detriment.

I don't know how many schools say, no to the Big Ten if they have the option.
 

Face The Facts said:
Why would any team leave their conference or their independent status, and not go to the Big Ten first?

More money. More prestige. SEC has a slight advantage right now in talent / competitiveness, but for teams looking for a move, that could be a detriment.

I don't know how many schools say, no to the Big Ten if they have the option.
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Notre Dame?
 

Face The Facts said:
Why would any team leave their conference or their independent status, and not go to the Big Ten first?

More money. More prestige. SEC has a slight advantage right now in talent / competitiveness, but for teams looking for a move, that could be a detriment.

I don't know how many schools say, no to the Big Ten if they have the option.
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seems to me that the SEC has more than a slight advantage in talent. Their teams at the top have won a ton, had more top draft picks and are stockpiling top recruits. Adding USC helps because Lincoln Riley is and will continue to add great talent.
 

Face The Facts said:
I still believe Notre Dame will join the Big Ten, it's just a question of time and how much Notre Dame wants to play victim before they do join.
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In the long run, it's either join the Big Ten (more $$$), stay independent, or fully join the ACC.

If I had to bet a bunch of money now, I would agree on the Big Ten eventual outcome.
 

IF Notre Dame joins the the big boy Big Ten conference they will go the way of Nebraska and PSU. I remember they thought Big Ten teams would roll over.
 




SEC further entrenching their position on CFP: no autobids allowed.



Either the other P confs cave to this, or there won't be a deal for 2026. Will be interesting to see who blinks first.
 

Gophers_4life said:
SEC further entrenching their position on CFP: no autobids allowed.



Either the other P confs cave to this, or there won't be a deal for 2026. Will be interesting to see who blinks first.
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I think the big ten agrees if they expand again before 2026. At 17 or 18 teams, you'll likely get 2+ teams in at 8+ spots.
 

swelna said:
I think the big ten agrees if they expand again before 2026. At 17 or 18 teams, you'll likely get 2+ teams in at 8+ spots.
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You'd like to think even "just" USC, Michigan, Ohio St, and Penn St already guarantees you at least 2 spots in an 8+ team playoff, every year.

But who knows. The Big Ten was shut out of the 4 team playoff completely ...
 

Big Ten is going to give in on autobids.

https://theathletic.com/3455277/2022/07/27/kevin-warren-big-ten-cfp-expansion/

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said Wednesday that he will not take a hardline stance on automatic College Football Playoff berths for Power 5 conference champions heading into the next set of CFP expansion meetings. This had been a public sticking point for Warren in the past.

“I’m going to soften my stance on it,” Warren told The Athletic. “I just feel like we have to give some credit for conference regular-season success. Now, whatever that looks like, I don’t know.”

He added that there are “creative ways” to do that that aren’t automatic qualifiers, and that means it’s a solvable issue, not an immovable one.

Last winter’s efforts to expand the College Football Playoff failed, with three Power 5 conferences voting against the proposed 12-team model, each for different reasons.

The Big Ten, one of the three who stymied a months-long expansion exploration, had pushed hard for automatic qualifiers for Power 5 conference champions. The proposal guaranteed access for the six highest ranked FBS conference champions, and while the Big Ten champion would assuredly be one of them, it wasn’t an explicit assigned spot in the way that conference tournament champions earn access in the NCAA basketball tournaments.
 

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