Pac-12 commish leads voices suggesting College Football Playoff expansion be paused amid SEC additions
With Texas and Oklahoma further strengthening the SEC, playoff expansion may be reconsidered
www.cbssports.com
A few excerpts from the linked article:
The Pac-12's new commissioner said out loud this week what his peers had been thinking for the last seven days: College Football Playoff expansion must be reconsidered. Not so much the actual expansion itself, but how there seems to be a bum rush towards it.
CBS Sports spoke with several high-profile administrators who will have a direct hand in the discussions. Their conclusion is that the entire proposed structure and access to the CFP must be reevaluated as a result of forthcoming conference realignment as triggered by the moves of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.
In devastating the Big 12 to the point it has lost 50% to 75% of its value, the SEC enhanced its power, leverage and earning potential to the point some college leaders fear the conference could earn six of the 12 available playoff spots in the proposed expansion......"With 12 teams, we could just be watching a lot of SEC teams in the 12-team playoff," a highly-placed Power Five source told CBS Sports.....
One Power Five AD added: "Why on God's green Earth would the Pac-12 and Big Ten hand over these [playoff] rights, which only strengthens the SEC?"......A second Power Five AD agreed: "I don't care if there are 10 SEC teams in; we just can't make that a bonanza [every] year for them. You can't strangle everybody else financially."
Kliavkoff being a rookie in his job does not mean his voice stands alone. He is supported by three other Power Five conference commissioners and some of most powerful college administrators in the country.....They assert that one thing has become clear: [SEC commissioner Greg]Sankey was one of those "four people" working on expansion while simultaneously engaging in a significant side hustle -- negotiating a blockbuster deal to lure Texas and Oklahoma to his conference. All while participating in those proceedings with Bowlsby.
It's safe to say Bowlsby is bitter having worked alongside Sankey and [Oklahoma AD Joe] Castiglione for years. Kliavkoff brought up the fact that only two of the Power Five conferences (SEC, Big 12) were involved in shaping the expansion process over a two-year period......"That's unfortunate," Kliavkoff told CBS Sports. "Remember: The commissioners of the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC weren't in the room."
One thing that all college football can agree on is that SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is a snake.
