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Greg Sankey pitches belief for no automatic qualifiers to College Football Playoff
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Greg Sankey is at the forefront of the ongoing discussions around the format for the College Football Playoff. Those discussions currently center around various models for a 16-team Playoff, with one roadblock.
The current roadblock is trying to best determine how to divvy up the number of automatic qualifiers. Some leagues want to have multiple qualifiers for the power leagues, but the SEC is particularly in favor of 5 automatic bids to conference champions alone and 11 at-large bids for the next highest-ranked teams.
However, even the 5+11 model is not in line with Sankey’s personal beliefs, the SEC Commissioner revealed on Monday. During an interview with The Dan Patrick Show, Sankey revealed he prefers a 12-team bracket without any AQs involved.
In that system, the final Playoff bracket would simply take the 12 best teams, regardless of conference championships:
“I’d give no allocation,” said Sankey. “When we get into rooms, we make political compromises.”
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Even if that is Sankey’s preferred model, he understands the importance of the current leaders in college football working together toward a common goal. He confirmed the power conference commissioners will have another call this week to discuss next steps in the CFP discussion and a “responsibility to work together.”
It’s fairly safe to say Sankey’s vision for zero automatic qualifiers will not come to pass, but it’s an interesting thought to ponder while we wait for a new format to be solidified.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
