USA TODAY analyst claims Texas, Oklahoma to SEC caused College Football Playoff tension……. Read more 

 

 

Seven months into their tenure in the Southeastern Conference, the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are adjusting to life in the league that “Just Means More.” The two programs officially joined the SEC on July 1, completing their first fall sports season in their new home.

As the transition continues, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is now pushing for changes to the College Football Playoff format, specifically eliminating first-round byes for conference champions—a move that would benefit the SEC while potentially disadvantageous to other conferences outside the Big Ten.

According to USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer, Sankey set this situation in motion when he orchestrated the SEC’s expansion in 2021 by adding Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12.

“Sankey says this change became necessary because conference affiliation no longer looks how it did when commissioners, including Sankey, devised the 12-team playoff format,” Toppmeyer wrote. “Hmm, I wonder why conference alignment changed. Ah, yes, it changed after Sankey steered the SEC’s plunder of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12’s top brands.”

The move triggered a chain reaction in college sports, leading to realignment chaos that saw the Big Ten raid the West Coast, while the Big 12 and ACC picked up Pac-12 programs, ultimately leaving the once-proud conference in disarray.

Sankey, however, remains focused on securing the best possible future for the SEC and its 16 member institutions. While that is his job as commissioner, leaders in the Big 12, ACC, and Group of Five conferences may resist his efforts to shift the playoff structure further in the SEC’s favor. Sankey spoke at SEC Football Media days in Dallas back in July that his focus is always on the sixteen teams he oversees. “Sixteen is our today, and 16 is our tomorrow.”

Yormark and Phillips would be doing their jobs by telling Sankey to spend the next year slurping up the beautiful 12-team playoff vision that he helped crumble into realignment soup,” Toppmeyer added, referencing Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips.

As the debate over the College Football Playoff format unfolds, Texas and Oklahoma continue their transition into the SEC, where their presence has already reshaped the landscape of college athletics.