SEC's Sankey says CFP expansion not foregone conclusion

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The College Football Playoff's decision to open a 30-day negotiating window with ESPN last week may signal growing interest in a 24-team field, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey doesn't believe that expansion is a foregone conclusion. "We've participated in that conversation," Sankey said Monday. "That doesn't mean expansion will happen. There's a media negotiation opportunity, which is an important piece of information, and then we'll have an opportunity, it would appear, later in the fall to make a decision about the future form." For much of the spring and summer, Sankey has pumped the brakes on a perceived momentum to expand the CFP field from 12 to 24. He's said that he's open to a discussion but that any decisions need to be informed by research. Some of the questions he's had about expansion have been answered, he said prior to a speaking engagement at a Monday Morning Quarterback Club in Birmingham, but other questions still linger. "And we've identified those that are central to our decision," he explained. Sankey said conference stakeholders met in Birmingham last month to talk about "strategic issues" including the playoff and overall postseason. Those discussions, he said, "produced our participation in this decision to go to the marketplace." "And then we refine - issues around schedule, issues around what might be the economics, issues around the regular season and having common expectations," he added. In other words: he'd like to see more standardized scheduling across conferences. Reportedly, as part of a 24-team playoff, Sankey is seeking a requirement that all teams play at least 10 Power 4 games. This past weekend, Sankey had a front-row seat to two of the biggest non-conference games of the season: Arizona State at Texas A&M and Ohio State at Texas. "We're trying to protect what we just saw last week," Sankey said. "You know, I was in College Station and Austin on Saturday. We saw Oklahoma up in Michigan, Arkansas at Utah ... Tennessee at Georgia Tech. Those are important games, and that doesn't happen across the four conferences, campus to campus. "We look at some of the schedules. There are a lot of question marks. And so having that answer, you know, some better expectation of how we engage in non-conference schedules is important." Sankey didn't engage with the other pressing subject of late: the SEC's decision to sue LSU over its plans to add former NFL players to its football roster. Last week, LSU opted not to roster the former pros. And a hearing for the lawsuit was pushed to a later date. A Thursday meeting of SEC presidents and chancellors, which was supposed to have featured a vote on whether to expel LSU from the conference, ended with no sanctions handed down from the conference. In a statement, the SEC said, "Those discussions will continue as the conference and its member universities work toward an appropriate resolution." On Monday, Sankey was asked if there's been a resolution with LSU. "I'm happy to talk about football," he said.