SEC Commissioner Says CFP Is Unlikely to Expand Before 2026

Greg Sankey explained why he felt the impending expansion won’t happen sooner than expected.

When the news broke that the College Football Playoff would expand from four teams to 12, it was reported the change would happen no later than 2026. According to SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, it’s unlikely the CFP format changes before then. 

“If history’s a lesson to help us understand the future, it won’t be easy,” Sankey told reporters Saturday. “But minds change, motivations change. … There’s a bunch of moving parts. That’s where I wish we could have used the last nine months to work. We’ll have to accelerate our consideration to make it happen.”

Per ESPN, the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick are scheduled to meet Thursday in Irving, Texas, to start discussions on potentially implementing the format earlier than 2026. 

The news of an expanded playoff follows a wave of realignment throughout college football that includes both Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Sankey also reaffirmed where the SEC stands regarding its realignment and the current playoff model. 

“Ours [realignment] is slated for 2025, and we made that decision knowing it could be a four-team playoff then,” Sankey said. “I’ve said repeatedly, with great meaning, that [the SEC] could have stayed at four beyond [the current deal], based on what took place the last 12 months.”