Joel Klatt: SEC Coaches Have Disagreement With Commissioner Greg Sankey
Joel Klatt reported that the majority of SEC coaches and athletic directors favor an expansion of the CFP to 24 teams.
Earlier this week, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti bashed the 16-team College Football Playoff model supported by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, suggesting it would make economic sense for conferences if they have to lose their league championship games. Petitti and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips support a 24-team CFP model. While Sankey is the lead voice for the SEC, it appears many participants in the conference are for the 24-team CFP.
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt on the sideline prior to the game between the St Louis Battlehawks and the Houston Roughnecks at TDECU Stadium on March 28, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/UFL/Getty Images) On his show Friday, Klatt said multiple coaches told him that the overwhelming majority of coaches and athletic directors in the SEC want the 24-team CFP model.
There could be contentious meetings between those coaches and Sankey during the SEC spring meetings next week in Destin, Florida. “I had multiple coaches tell me that 90% of the coaches in the SEC, and 100% of the athletic directors in the SEC favor a 24-team model for playoff expansion,” Klatt said. “There is a sentiment, at least amongst the Big Ten coaches, that the meetings between Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the SEC, and his coaches, are going to be contentious because the coaches are going to be pushing for one thing, and Greg has publicly, obviously, stated something very different and in opposition of the 24-team model, and they might not have a consensus down there.
” "I had multiple coaches tell me that 90% of the coaches in the SEC and 100% of the athletic directors in the SEC favor a 24-team model for playoff expansion. " Don't miss @joelklatt 's takeaways from Big Ten Spring Meetings and more in his upcoming episode, premiering Monday. pic.