Did SEC commissioner’s comments hint at potential rift with NCAA?

The athletic directors from the Big Ten and SEC met in Nashville on Thursday to discuss the future of their respective conferences and a potential partnership.

But comments made by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey after the meeting suggest bigger issues with higher powers are at the forefront of his mind.

“We have a responsibility to make decisions for our future,” Sankey told reporters (h/t Nicole Auerbach). “[NCAA governance] has to change.”

Sankey has previously expressed his displeasure with how the NCAA runs college football, hence why the meeting with the Big Ten was organized in the first place.

But he hasn’t offered many solutions either, dismissing proposals to reorganize the sport into a “super league” with a centralized commissioner that has backing from several industry leaders and university presidents.

Thursday, Sankey said the NCAA still has a role to play, particularly in hosting national championships, but “we also have to have a much different decision-making system and role for us in decision-making.”

It sounds as if Sankey is proposing independence for the sports’ two biggest conferences from the governing body entirely.

With the SEC’s acquisition of Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 and the Big Ten’s absorption of four former Pac-12 schools, college football has felt lopsided and the two conference’s plotting a partnership has only exacerbated those fears.

However, Sankey disagreed saying it’s a “created perception” but admitted “big problems are not solved in big rooms filled with people.”

“I don’t think that perception is consistent with our conversation today, where we recognize we’re part of a bigger ecosystem but we also are interested in what we might be able to achieve together,” he added.

The expanded College Football Playoff this season is expected to heavily feature Big Ten and SEC programs as part of the 12-team field.

Thursday’s meeting reportedly featured talk of expansion and reform that would include four auto-bids for each conference. Sankey refused to confirm that reporting, noting any change is contingent on the performance of this year’s format.

“This has to go incredibly well,” Sankey said. “This has to be a successful launch. This isn’t the time to talk about governance or the format in ’26.”

He also acknowledged the two conferences cannot unilaterally alter the playoff format but is still committed to the notion of a “defined role where we have to be clear participants at the end of that conversation.”

It’s unclear if any further significant changes to college football are imminent after Thursday’s meeting but Sankey’s comments indicate there will be grievances needing some form of redress in the offseason.