As Big Ten pushes toward 24-team playoff, SEC commissioner thinks some in his league favor that, too

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (AP) — By now, pretty much anyone following college football knows the Big Ten wants to double the size of the playoff to 24 teams.

In what might come as a mild surprise, the Southeastern Conference, considered the major roadblock to such a big expansion, might be willing to go along with that plan.

With the Big Ten's annual meetings taking place this week in California, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey previewed his own league meetings, set for next week, on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” in a way that made the SEC sound like something other than an impediment to the 24-team bracket.

“What you will hear next week is a lot of our coaches, a lot of our athletic directors and probably some others think 24 is the right direction,” Sankey said. “What we’ve said is, that could ultimately be the proper direction. We just don't think you lead to that without information. And research and understanding the marketplace informs that decision.”

He said the research the SEC has done so far favors a lighter expansion, to 16 teams.

The Big Ten wants to go bigger, and if the two conferences can't agree, there can be no change. The upcoming season's playoff will be a 12-team affair, with a deadline of Dec. 1 to decide about 2027.

Sankey suggested the meeting about expansion in Florida next week could last two hours, about double the duration of last year, as league leaders sort through the scheduling, financial and competitive implications of such a change.

Those discussions are playing out this week in the Big Ten, which appears to be forming a united front in favor of the move to 24.

“I think 24 is the right number,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said Tuesday in California, noting the ratio of teams that make the playoff compared to the entire division would be about the same as in March Madness and the FCS playoffs.

“I think the College Football Playoff is urgent,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “I think everything else will trickle down from that decision. And I agree that 24 is the number, so hopefully, we can get that done.”

The Big Ten commissioner, Tony Petitti, was scheduled to address the media later Tuesday.

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