Greg Sankey answers when vote will happen on College Football Playoff expansion

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey gave a bit of a tease as to when the vote will happen for the College Football Playoff expansion. 14 and 16 team brackets are on the table for potential expansion, beginning as early as the 2026-27 season.

How the model will look is anyone’s guess. Team selection process is paramount considering the 12-team bracket already changed the seeding for this coming season.

But Sankey reminded the good folks out there that the 12-team College Football Playoff is still in its evaluation period. If it’s any better this season, maybe it’ll give the committee and voters a better roadmap for expansion.

“The outer boundary is November 30, December 1 of this year for the ‘26 playoff,” Sankey said on The Dan Patrick Show. “Now keep in mind, when we went to 12 teams, the board said that’ll be the format for 2026, let’s start early if we can, which we obviously did, overall, in a successful way. But what was introduced immediately is, let’s go through these two years and conduct an evaluation. 

“So we’re in that evaluation standpoint. A lot of talk about, really 14 or 16. I think 12 is known as it’s kind of a foundation point, but the conversation is about 14 or 16, and then how our teams selected or placed into whatever size bracket exists is the more the headline question.” 

Sankey would just make it simple and go by the rankings, regardless of 12 teams or expansion. But with the amount of politicking going on, it might be hard to do so right now until there is a clear and concise selection formula.

“Well, I’ve been one who said over time, I give no allocation,” Sankey said. “So this whole five- seven thing that exists now, I just make it the 12 best teams. And I was clear on that. Now, when we get into rooms, we make political compromises, if you will, small p not like Congress, political compromises, but to achieve an outcome … We’ve spent so much time expanding and working through our own little side arguments about teams and, oh, we can’t do this. We need this. You got to protect this bowl game or that bowl game. 

“We never went back to the essence of decision making, which is how our team selected as everyone relocated over the last four or five years, do the analyzes that existed and work for the four-team playoff in 2014, still have the same relevance, and we’re behind that curve in my opinion.”