DESTIN, Fla. — SEC commissioner Greg Sankey opened the league’s annual conferences Monday by saying he is open-minded in regards to the format of the School Soccer Playoff, whereas leaving some breadcrumbs about what he thinks are priorities within the convention’s decision-making.
With SEC athletic administrators, presidents and coaches converging in Destin this week, the way forward for the School Soccer Playoff in 2026 and past is likely one of the central points going through the league.
That is partly as a result of the playoff format choice is kinetic, because it impacts the SEC’s soccer schedule going to 9 video games and a few kind of down-the-road scheduling partnership with the Huge Ten.
“We’re not dedicated to any specific format,” Sankey mentioned.
With conversations amongst CFP leaders about format having appeared to splinter off to simply the 4 energy convention commissioners, a 16-team mannequin looms because the probably for the way forward for the game. Sankey stays noncommittal on how the SEC thinks that ought to work, as faculty soccer enters the ultimate yr of its present postseason format.
Essentially the most mentioned mannequin has been one the place the Huge Ten and SEC would get 4 automated bids every, and the ACC and Huge 12 two every.
However Sankey careworn that the so-called 4-4-2-2-1-3 mannequin, which distributes one automated bid to the non-power leagues and three obtainable at-large bids — probably for Notre Dame — has not been selected in his room.
“We’ll see how that dialog manifests itself this week and we’ll look just a little bit extra deeply at totally different concepts,” he mentioned, “which can put me in some unspecified time in the future in a greater place to reply these questions.”
Sankey did dive into some traits within the CFP system that he’d wish to see, together with a prioritization of the common season — and video games like Nebraska’s not too long ago cancelled sequence with Tennessee — whereas holding postseason hopes alive for a swath of groups deep into the season.
“I believe the phrase ‘hope’ is on the heart, too,” Sankey mentioned. “How do you convey folks into the dialog late within the season in a altering atmosphere, and so the concept of, ‘Might you could have play-in-type video games?’ continues to populate itself earlier than you are within the CFP choice. That is about constructing curiosity and giving hope.
“Whether or not that is the final word vacation spot, we’ll see.”
The Huge Ten and commissioner Tony Petitti have been extra bullish on the 4 automated bids, in keeping with sources. Sankey has spoken about them however stays extra guarded in his help.
Final week on the Huge Ten conferences in California, the league got here away nonetheless in help of the 4-4-2-2-1-3 mannequin for the playoff, sources mentioned. The Huge Ten stays open to different concepts, however that mannequin is on the forefront.
Sankey’s guarded stance stayed true Monday night: “We’re looking for a format to find out, no matter quantity it’s, the most effective groups in faculty soccer, and I believe the place we’re proper now could be we’ve got used a political course of inside a room to come back to selections about soccer. We must be utilizing soccer data to come back to soccer selections.”
Sankey did clarify his disappointment within the reactions of the ACC and Huge 12 commissioners to the transfer to a straight seeding mannequin introduced final week. Each commissioners referenced the macro good of the sport in responses, with the ACC’s Jim Phillips saying that is a “accountability I take very severely” and the Huge 12’s Brett Yormark saying he hopes what’s finest for school soccer is “the precedence” in discussions transferring ahead.
Sankey felt these separate responses from the leagues had been coordinated — though they weren’t formally — and remarked: “I do not want lectures from others about ‘good of the sport.’ I do not lecture others about ‘good of the sport’ and coordinating press releases about good of the sport. OK, you possibly can situation your press assertion, however I am really on the lookout for concepts to maneuver us ahead.”
He did add that the Huge 12 and ACC did finally convey some CFP concepts, however they do not seem to have gained traction as they concerned extra bids — or bids with thresholds — for the ACC and Huge 12.
Sankey mentioned displacement of SEC groups would loom as such a giant situation if these fashions had been accepted that he’d doubtless lose his job.
“That is powerful” he mentioned, strolling by a sequence of potential displacement situations for his members. “I do not suppose it would be me on the podium sooner or later if a few of these concepts [came to fruition].”
The opposite situation looming over conferences is the potential for the settlement of the Home case this week. He stays hopeful a call comes.
“We have now a accountability for implementation,” he mentioned, “so does it pivot what we are saying this week? Yep. Does it imply we’ll preserve making ready? We will preserve making ready.”
