Greg Sankey reminds everyone who actually runs the playoff | Opinion
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BIRMINGHAM, AL – Greg Sankey and Craig Bohl walk into a bar.
That’s not the beginning of a joke. It’s what needs to happen.
The former is clearly not happy with the latter; SEC Commissioner Sankey spoke candidly on Monday about the American Football Coaches Association’s recent showing of public support for a 24-team College Football Playoff, among other stances. Bohl is it’s executive director, and Sankey believes he was due, at the very least, a heads up that the memo was forthcoming.
“It’s kind of disappointing. I had seen Craig Bohl a couple weeks ago. I know he has my cellphone number,” Sankey said at the Associated Press Sports Editors Southeast Region meeting at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. “It would have been nice to have had a conversation about the rationale for their statement, and maybe the rationale for some of those decisions. That’s a fair leadership expectation.”
Ooofff. Now there’s a frosty shoulder.
The AFCA also issued public support for the elimination of conference championship games, a reduction of bye weeks from two to one, and season-end no later than the second Monday in January. As for the size of the playoff field, the AFCA statement advocated for the maximum number of teams, without specifying 24, but 24 is the big number in the conversation.
And whether the CFP will expand to 16 or 24 teams is the conversation that matters most.
The SEC has backed a 16-team playoff field, but more relevant entities than the AFCA also have reportedly sided with a 24-team format; namely, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, and Notre Dame Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua.
Majority control of CFP matters falls with the SEC and Big Ten, however. The Big Ten’s initial 24-team playoff proposal last year included a mix of at-large bids and multiple allocated bids to various conferences. Sankey was never a fan, but a 24-team playoff without allocations might be something of a compromise. Sankey wants more analysis and data regarding a 24-team format, and he was clear that research on a 24-team field hasn’t been advanced the way it was when the CFP changed from a four-team to a 12-team field.
He was even more clear that the Bohl and the AFCA don’t have a seat at the table.
“Last I knew, the AFCA is not in charge of dealing with the schedule, postseason games or even regular season games. I mean the entity,” Sankey added. “Or figuring out where they fit in the calendar. I certainly respect their First Amendment rights, but there’s a lot more depth than a press release.”
Yep, some ice between Sankey and Bohl needs thawing. Or does it?
As Sankey noted, it’s not as though the AFCA can hold up progress. Opposing interests within the CFP have always managed to handle progress hold-up just fine all by themselves. The CFP Management Committee is expected to meet next month, probably just to kick the can once again. Sankey didn’t sound optimistic that a definitive playoff structure for the future would emerge out of the June session.
The wait, more than likely, will continue.
If Sankey and Bohl don’t have the will to mend fences with a beer, they’ll probably at least have the time.
Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Greg Sankey fires back at AFCA amid College Football Playoff debate
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