Sankey hopes for resolution on SEC schedule

• Alex Scarborough, ESPN

  • Staff WriterMay 29, 2023, 08:27 PM ET Close Covers the SEC.Joined ESPN
  • in 2012.
  • Graduate of Auburn University.DESTIN, Fla.– SEC commissioner Greg

  Sankey would not say for certain whether the league would vote at its spring conferences today on whether to use a 8 -or nine-game conference schedule in football moving on, however he said he already has”explained what I believe ultimately ought to happen “which he wants to have an option soon. “I would choose to not continue to circle the airport with the plane, “he stated Monday.But a resolution could be hard as schools appear split on which scheduling formula is most helpful.

  Problems of bowl eligibility, competitive balance and tv profits are expected to be part of the discussion. The approaching growth of the College Football Playoff to 12 groups is an aspect also. The two schedules at the center of the debate are an eight-game conference schedule that would include one permanent opponent and seven rotating opponents, and a nine-game schedule with three permanent opponents and six turning opponents.Sankey has actually said formerly that the concentrate on future scheduling includes no divisions.Sankey stated on Monday that he currently has privately specified his choice of a 8-or nine-game schedule, but he’s purposefully permitting the argument to play out among the 14 member schools.Editor’s Picks 1 Related The outcome of the vote will be determined by an easy bulk(eight schools

).”A league at

the forefront of college sports does not stand still,”Sankey said.The SEC currently plays an eight-game conference schedule, albeit with East and West divisions( 6 department games plus two rotating cross-divisional games).”This is a league at the leading edge of college sports, “Sankey continued.”Now, whether change takes place immediately is part of a careful factor to consider and a deep consideration. You can make arguments around both [scheduling designs], however I’m seeing a various truth– a baseball league that might be more difficult than our football. The content of our games and the chances produced is not lessened by playing each other with higher frequency. We make the most of that since of the strength of schedule. Football is the same.” Is the bowl-eligibility problem absolute? We’ve done predictive analytics. It’s in fact a limited change.

Now, maybe almost on the frontline it seems like a substantial modification, but when we’ve run the numbers, it’s not as if we have massive bowl ineligibility appearing from a nine-game schedule.” Sankey mentioned the 2020 season, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the SEC played a 10-game, conference-only schedule.” The interest is high for our games,”he said.”The viewership on our network that year was at a record level since we weren’t

playing the exact same kind of games that don’t draw the enthusiasm that a conference game does. I also understand that when you look at economics– the ticket rates around top-level conference games is very various than an FCS or a Group of 5 games. So those are aspects that to me are front and center.”That doesn’t suggest everyone concurs with that point of view, but those are components that will continue to become part of the conversation.”Embedded in the concern of scheduling is the capability to maintain competition games. An eight-game schedule featuring one irreversible opponent would threaten specific historical competitions like Alabama-Tennessee

and Auburn-Georgia. Contributing to the scheduling calculus is the additions of Texas and Oklahoma in 2024. Agents from the two schools, which are presently still a part of the Huge 12, will exist at spring meetings for

the first time this week.They’ll be individuals but will not have a vote till their subscription is totally active July 1, 2024. “I think it’s an important component for us as we think about our future, “Sankey said.”2024 is a massive year with the move far from CBS, growth to 16 [teams], the College Football Playoff [

expanding to 12 groups] Not to discuss all that occurs around us. So, I think it’s an essential relationship-building chance, crucial details sharing.”