Paul Finebaum: Greg Sankey, Tony Petitti tired of loudmouth school presidents

The SEC and Big Ten are reportedly pushing for a 14-team College Football Playoff, where the winners of both leagues will receive a double bye. While SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are understandably in favor of the move, some in the college sports world are not.

Paul Finebaum joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Monday and shared what he believes Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti are hoping to accomplish.

“Nothing has been determined yet, and many of the so-called top influence makers in our space are just going apoplectic and talking about the arrogance of it all,” Paul Finebaum said. “But what I think the SEC and the Big Ten are trying to do is set some parameters, as if to say, ‘Listen, we have pretty much controlled this sport. We are bringing most of the eyeballs into the College Football Playoff every year, and we’re continuing to. We want to be paid for it.’”

The SEC and Big Ten have combined to win the last five national titles. They have also combined to win eight of the past 10, with Clemson‘s titles in 2016 and 2018 being the only ones not won by either the Big Ten or SEC.

Finebaum doesn’t necessarily believe the SEC and Big Ten will get exactly what they want, but he does understand the negotiating tactics.

“Everyone listening knows, to set a baseline, you have to overshoot the runway a little bit in negotiations,” Finebaum said. “I don’t know specifically what the goal is of Commissioner Sankey and Tony Petitti, the Big Ten Commissioner. But I do feel very strongly that they’re probably tired of loudmouth presidents like the guy at Washington State, who got in the way several years ago and stopped progress of the 12-team playoff.”

Finebaum continued to explain why he believes Sankey and Petitti are not big fans of Washington State President Kirk Schulz.

“He viciously attacked the group that came up with it, including Greg Sankey, and he’s still mouthing off. And he’s a part of a league with two schools,” Finebaum said. “I mean, so my reaction to President [Kirk] Schulz is shut up. I mean, go get yourself into a league before you try to dictate policy at the CFP. And there are other people like that, as well.

“And I think when you look at the numbers, we know that the SEC has populated this tournament significantly since its inception. Nobody’s even in the same category. But the Big Ten has had some representation. So I think that’s what’s really going on, and whatever they’re putting on the table to try and scare everyone, they’re probably saying, ‘Listen, if you don’t like it, we’ll take our ball and go somewhere else.’ And quite frankly, guys, that’s a possibility.”