One of the biggest discussions entering the SEC meetings in Destin, FL, this week is CFP expansion. The unrest stems from a disagreement between the SEC and the Big Ten on the format. On one side, B1G commissioner Tony Petitti continues pushing aggressively toward a 24-team playoff model. On the other hand, Greg Sankey is drawing a hard line around 16 teams. And now, he’s dropping a warning on the expansion. 

For Sankey, this is not just about numbers on a bracket. It is about how far college football can stretch before it starts losing the things fans still recognize. He is not saying no to change. He is saying the sport should not rush past the point where the playoffs start eating the old traditions that it was built around.

“Four to 12 was monumental, I think it was justifiable, and you want to be careful about how far you go,” Greg Sankey said during the meeting, via On3’s Pete Nakos. 

That warning had the SEC commissioner openly questioning whether college football is about to overextend itself chasing more money, more games, and more TV windows. At the center of the fight is a simple question: how many changes can college football make before it gives up the events that have long defined the sport?

The SEC is against the proposed 24-team model, even while other conferences are slowly accepting it. The reason is that Greg Sankey doesn’t believe the financial gain is worth what would be sacrificed. A larger field would create more access for more teams, but it would also raise the question of what college football gives up to make room.

The danger is that a 24-team playoff format would remove conference title games. The SEC Championship game itself is worth close to $100 million. Combining across all of the FBS would amount to $200-$250 million. One sports media consultant, John Kosner, voiced that concern while speaking with The Athletic.

“You’re essentially just bringing in more teams with less and less chance of competing for the championship,” he said. “The media value will grow a bit, but it might not grow to the level schools hope.”

The SEC doesn’t want that, but the Big Ten continues running in the opposite direction. At last week’s Big Ten meetings in California, Tony Petitti reiterated the conference’s preference for a 24-team model, which would eliminate conference championship games. 

“We’ve had zero conversation about 16,” he said during the meeting. “Plan B is what we have now. We would stay with what we have now.”

Greg Sankey wasn’t buying that. And he made it clear during the SEC meeting. 

“I was surprised by that since they brought 16 to the table,” he said via On3. “When we were meeting last year, all those 16 ideas weren’t ours, and probably some of the outcomes. There’s probably clarity that they have looked at 16, just not much of late. He’d [Tony] have to explain their positioning.”

And until these two power conferences align, nothing changes after the 2026 season. And sitting in the middle of all this is one tradition the SEC refuses to throw away.

Greg Sankey isn’t eliminating the conference title game

Greg Sankey made that clear when asked about the future of the SEC Championship game. 

“We have a contract, so pretty committed,” he stated. 

He knows conference title games still matter culturally, financially, and competitively. But while Greg Sankey publicly protects the SEC Championship Game, some major SEC programs are preparing for life without it, including Alabama.

“I think the ship has sailed,” AD Greg Byrne told USA Today on the future of conference title games. “It’s run its course.”

Even Georgia’s Kirby Smart is ready to make that sacrifice. 

“Where we are right now with 12 teams, I don’t necessarily agree that it needs to quit being played,” he said. “But if it gets to 16 or 24 and we’ve got to move the end of the season up and we’ve got to get everything done by the second week of January, then I’d say it probably has to go.”

Eventually, it needs to come down to a mutual decision. As Byrne added, “We need to pick a lane.”

“We were headed for 16, and then there seemed to be pressure for 24,” he said. “So, as soon as we get to 24, I guess you could say, ‘Well, we better go to 48.’ I mean, at some point, we have to pick a lane.”

Right now, college football feels terrified of saying no to expansion. Every new playoff proposal creates pressure for another expansion after that. Four became twelve, twelve became sixteen, sixteen became twenty-four. Who knows, somebody will suggest thirty-two or forty-eight in the future. That’s what Greg Sankey is worried about. You want to be careful about how far you go.