SEC commissioner shares timetable for SEC expansion, scheduling plan

On3 imageby:James Fletcher III12/04/21

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The SEC shook the foundation of college football this summer when it announced the addition of Big 12 powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas. The move kicked off a series of conference realignment moves and led rival conferences to form an alliance of sorts.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey joined The Paul Finebaum Show live from the SEC Championship this week to discuss conference expansion, scheduling chances and more. When asked whether anything happened on the Oklahoma and Texas front, Sankey gave a clever response.

“Oh sure, but not moving up an early entry date,” Sankey told Finebaum. “That was kind of the hidden question, right? You slid it in there.”

He continued: “July 30 was our announcement of the invitations and the acceptance of invitations by the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma. We set July 1, 2025. There are reasons for that date, there are relationships inside the Big 12 and some of the agreements that exist. I’ve always said, ‘if something changes we’ll be prepared.’ … All of us have said we want to have a respectful and orderly transition and that’s why we’ve announced things the way we have. And it is a little bit different situation than really any other membership transition that we could reference where it happens in a much shorter period of time.”

When the move was first announced, it received large amounts of criticism from the Big 12, particularly commissioner Bob Bowlsby. However, Sankey maintains that this will be a delicate process.

Greg Sankey on scheduling changes

One of the keys for Greg Sankey’s SEC expansion will be the adaptation of the current scheduling format. Several models have been proposed in the public – from a pod system to more divisions, or

“We’ve been doing work through scheduling committees, a full group of athletic directors looking at football scheduling,” said Sankey. “I shared over the next six months I think we’ll come to a conclusion on the future format. But I may be back here saying I need to buy more time, so don’t overread my timeline. We’ve had communication from time to time with the two universities, we’re heading down this road.”

The non-committal stance on a definite timetable for scheduling decisions led Paul Finebaum to take a shot toward the group negotiating a new structure for the CFP, saying he believed more in Sankey’s ability to figure things out than them.