SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Shoots Down College Football Super League Chatter

Kevin Borba | Apr 26, 2024

Nov 11, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; A detailed view of the SEC logo on a chain marker during / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

College football is in a flux of sorts thanks to all of the conference realignment and uncertainty around the country.

If your program is a member of the Big Ten or the SEC, everything is just peachy. They have the largest media rights deals, absorbed some of the biggest brands in the sport in the past round of conference expansion, and have shown no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, if you are a team in the ACC which currently has multiple teams attempting to leave, or the Big 12 who is becoming more and more overlooked by the day, it can be worrisome.

This past month there was a pitch made to form an 80-team Super League with major modifications that would be expected to save college football from itself. One that has drawn support from members that aren't in the SEC or Big Ten, but has been shot down by those who are in those two.

Nov 11, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; A detailed view of the SEC logo on a chain marker during / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was recently asked about the Super League, and revealed he hasn't spent too much time thinking of it.

“I haven’t talked about the super league and I’m not going to do it today. The fact people have interest in throwing ideas out, that’s up to them. I spend my time on what I have to do," Sankey told Ross Dellenger.

Some highlights of the Super League include making the highest level of college football one league, zero conferences and switching to divisions, playoff berths based on wins/results, promotion and relegation for smaller schools. Off the field, players would be getting paid directly, while NIL and the transfer portal would have regulations.

This could be a path the sport takes eventually or even maybe adopting aspects from it, but the biggest challenge in the meantime is having everyone on board. A task that may shut down the talks all together.