There will be a lot to talk about next week when SEC coaches and officials meet next week at the spring meetings in Destin, and it will be more than just small talk. Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban.
Among the topics that will be discussed, according to Pete Thamel of ESPNis the SEC’s idea of ”creating, managing and profiting from its own intra-SEC playoffs.” According to the report, an eight-team model would be an “obvious” way forward, but there are no immediate plans to move forward.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the idea was among about 40 different models discussed by SEC officials at their fall meetings.
“As we believe as a conference,” he told ESPN on Monday“It is vitally important that we think about the range of possibilities.”
Sankey supports a 12-team playoff, which the ACC, PAC-12 and Big 10 voted against in February at a meeting of the College Football Playoff Management Committee. Had the proposal passed, expansion would have begun for the 2024 season.
On the other hand, earlier this month, the SEC commissioner is now content with the CFP model.
“We can stay at four o’clock” he said earlier this month. “This conference will thrive at four…period. It’s not healthy for the rest of college football, but we can stay at four.”
Expect future scheduling formats to also be a topic of conversation, as Texas and Oklahoma prepare to join the conference.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.
