The college football landscape is going through a massive transition this year, and surprisingly, the SEC is resisting many such changes. Recently, the American Football Coaches Association proposed expanding the college football playoff to 24 teams and removing the conference championship games altogether. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey stood against the proposal. And now, he is resisting another push, continuing with the older traditions.
According to reports, Greg Sankey has affirmed his stance not to schedule the SEC’s games on Fridays. Instead, the conference will play its games on Saturdays as usual, preserving the American South’s high school football culture. “For everybody that thinks we just grab money, we could grab money just by putting games on different nights of the week,” Sankey said.
In states like Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana, high school football is nothing less than a spectacle, uniting entire communities. In Texas, for instance, towns transform with school colors every Friday and games draw huge crowds. The sacred tradition of ‘Friday Night Lights’ thus becomes the standard across the South, and the games also don’t conflict with college football games. Any attempt to alter that culture is met with fierce backlash.
Texas Tech’s 2026 season opener is scheduled on Friday, September 12, against Houston. The program’s billionaire donor, Cody Campbell, however, exchanged fiery words recently with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark. For Campbell, a childhood follower of the ‘Friday Night Lights’, it was an infuriating decision, and he even called out the TV broadcasters.
NO FRIDAY GAMES: The SEC will remain as the only power conference to not play any football games on Fridays. Sankey said “For everybody that thinks we just grab money, we could grab money just by putting games on different nights of the week,” when asked about Friday games.… pic.twitter.com/M68k4CtnNw
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 12, 2026
“[TV partners] have the draft or whatever, and the conference doesn’t want to really acknowledge it,” Campbell said. “They just chose not to because they were chasing ratings, which I do understand on one hand, but on the other hand, high school football is important in the state of Texas. We’ve got a road game the week before. It’s not an ideal situation for us, and … I think our conference should protect us more than they did.”
In recent years, the Big 12 has embraced Friday games, with matchups like Missouri vs. Kansas or Houston vs. Texas Tech taking place on Fridays. Moving games away from Saturday ensures the conference will have a wider footprint and that fewer games clash on the same day, ideally drawing more viewers. A similar situation is with the Big 10, which organizes ‘Fox College Football Friday.’
This year, the Big 10’s 2026 slate includes several high-profile games on Fridays. Games like Indiana vs Northwestern and Iowa vs Washington are all scheduled for Fridays this year, with commissioner Tony Petitti calling it a “showcase” opportunity. That directly conflicts with high school football. On any given Friday, more than 7,000 high school football games happen throughout the country. Thus, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and its member state associations oppose the Friday college football games vehemently.
Greg Sankey’s sentiments match NFSH’s request
After AFCA’s proposal for a 24-team playoff, Greg Sankey has stayed firm in expanding the playoff to just 16 teams. He accused AFCA of not picking up his phone and of those in decision-making roles making the decisions unilaterally. Not just that, Sankey also opposed the “new calendar” that proposed shifting the playoff earlier in the year, saying the NFL would “cannibalize TV ratings.” Now, Sankey’s sentiments about games on Fridays align with NFHS’s demands.
“College and professional football teams should refrain from scheduling contests on Friday nights,” NFHS said in a statement. “Such restraint would be an investment in their own future success. It would also demonstrate that high school football has value well beyond the field of play. Schools, communities, and scholastic teams for girls and boys all benefit when football is strong.”
SEC’s decision to stick to Saturday games shows its strong commitment to preserving high school football. It sure limits revenue from the Friday games, something that conferences like the Big 12 rake in (64% increase in one season). Will the SEC continue with its stance, or change with the demands of the new college football ecosystem, gradually? Only time will tell!!
