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Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey declared on Wednesday that the league is prepared to consider implementing its own set of rules to tackle pressing issues in college athletics should Congress fail to enact national legislation. Such discussions, he noted, are already underway.
Sankey made these remarks at SEC basketball media days in Birmingham, an event where basketball topics were largely overshadowed by broader governance concerns. He emphasized that while the conference will keep advocating for federal intervention, it may take a more proactive stance in shaping its own policies if lawmakers do not act.
"If change is not accessed or not achieved at that national level, there will be more and more conversation about how we as a conference function and our own decision-making," Sankey said. "We have had rules in the past that apply only to our conference that are more restrictive generally than what might happen nationally. That type of conversation has been initiated, and I would expect it to continue, but we'll wait to see what happens at the congressional level."
Last month, the Senate approved a comprehensive bipartisan bill aimed at regulating college sports for the first time, seeking to bring order to a landscape disrupted by soaring athlete compensation and largely unregulated transfers. The 77-22 vote marked Congress's most significant effort yet to establish national guidelines for name, image, and likeness payments and transfer frequency. The legislation would grant the NCAA enhanced authority and limited antitrust exemptions to enforce these rules. The bill now awaits action in the House, where midterm elections next month have added uncertainty to the timeline.
Sankey stressed that national standards are essential for fairness across the diverse spectrum of Division I institutions. "If we want those national championships across all sports given the diversity in Division I, you know, small private colleges that draw from a regional base to large public universities that can put 100,000 people in a football stadium, we need those national standards," he said.
Playoff Expansion Possibilities
Sankey, who had previously voiced doubts about enlarging the College Football Playoff from 12 to 24 teams, now appears more receptive. "I think I've always communicated that we've never said no that won't happen, that won't be a point of support," Sankey said. "I think there's an openness to playoff expansion on our part -- I think certainly there's an openness. Attitudes change over time and perspectives change, and so we'll see where that leads us from a final decision standpoint."
The playoff grew from four to 12 teams in 2024, but after executives could not agree on further expansion, the CFP is retaining the same format for this season. A December 1 deadline looms for any modifications for next season. The primary obstacle to a 24-team field involves compensating for revenue lost from eliminating conference championship games to make room for additional playoff matchups, and whether ESPN alone or with other media partners can assemble a viable financial package in the remaining time. ESPN's new agreement, starting this year, is valued at $7.8 billion over six seasons and grants the network the first option to add the initial two games in any playoff expansion. Last week, the CFP announced that talks with ESPN were ongoing after an exclusive negotiating window for media rights ended. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti expressed optimism then that the CFP would expand to 24 teams. "We'll make some final decisions -- probably sooner rather than later -- is my expectation," Sankey said on Wednesday.
Professional Athletes Returning to College
Sankey also weighed in on the contentious issue of professional athletes seeking to return to college competition, a matter that has brought attention to LSU guard RJ Luis, whom coach Will Wade said Tuesday has not yet been rostered. Sankey declined to comment specifically on the Tigers, a founding SEC member currently exchanging court filings with the conference over governance, but he affirmed that the SEC has established a clear boundary regarding athletes who turn pro and then attempt to come back to college. "When you look at the principles up front, somebody who enrolls in college and chooses to depart, that's where we've drawn the line, and we'll continue to develop those boundary lines," Sankey said.
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Originally reported by wsls.