Greg Sankey ain’t doing pods, y’all. ($$)
League members went into deep discussions of a pod model, but Sankey said “pods really doesn’t work,” noting that they could create a similar issue that the league is currently dealing with where members don’t play each other home and away frequently.
But we’re not out of the scheduling woods yet. Because they’re still debating you know what.
“The focus in football is on a single division right now,” Sankey said. “The real debate is eight or nine (conference) games. That doesn’t mean divisions are completely erased from our consideration but they’re not at the forefront of our thinking.”
Sankey also added that going from eight SEC games to nine “is not certain by any stretch of the imagination.”
I don’t think it takes any imagination at all. That this is still up in the air tells me that Mickey isn’t interested in ponying up for more conference games and the pro-eight game format folks aren’t backing down.
In other words, say goodbye to a few more annual rivalry games. Because making sure mediocre programs are bowl eligible is the essence of “it just means more”.
Get The Picture 
I ain’t got enough years left to wait as long to go to Austin as we’ve waited to go to College Station. Do nine or I’m fucking done. Not one more cent of my money spent on something that’s run by folks who don’t give a shit about me.
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There’s plenty of time to figure it out and negotiations take time. Texhoma isn’t coming until ’24 at the earliest.
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Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s better to wait for Oklahoma and Texas to have a seat at the table. That’s two more programs who are more worried about better home matchups, playoff bids, and home playoff games than about getting a sixth win to go to the Valero Alamo Bowl. That probably tips the scales towards nine games even in the absence of ESPN being willing to renegotiate. Perhaps they could even call ESPN’s bluff and sell those extra 7 games/year via a different media strategy since they’re not included in ESPN’s current deal?
At some point, the big boys should tell Mississippi State and Kentucky that they should count their lucky stars that they’re coming along for the ride and not stuck in the ACC or Big XII. Minor bowls might not even exist for long once the playoff goes to 12, so we shouldn’t base important decisions on the league getting one more team per year in them.
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The idea of negotiating those additional conference games elsewhere, at least on the surface, sounds interesting to me. Mickey wants the best conference in the land all to itself, period. If there is the possibility of moving the additional game (or even just the games involving Texas/OU) to a different network that is willing to pay for them, that might fix it all.
But I have no idea, really. I am not one to pay attention to the minutiae of these contracts so I don’t know if that would work.
But it’s intriguing.
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or just remove the stupid 6 win requirement for the end of season exhibition games which mean even less now.
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Isn’t that an NCAA requirement? Sankey can only do so much.
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It is, but this is not a uniquely SEC problem, especially moving forward into a 12 team playoff. The bowl system is on life support as it is. Anything that gets less cupcake matchups is good IMO.
But blah blah “cupcakes rely on those games to prop up their athletic departments” rabble rabble rabble
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The problem is I believe the FBS membership would have to vote on this. It would be interesting to see how the Go5 would react to such a proposal. I would expect that the Power 5 conferences would squeeze out the Group of 5 in the lower tier slots if the 6 win threshold were removed. The Bahamas Bowl would probably prefer to take a 4-8 South Carolina over an 7-5 Sun Belt team.
The bowl system outside the NY6 is in trouble. The only way it survives is for the bowl games to rip off the conference tie-ins and invite the schools they want as opposed to what school is foisted upon them by the conferences.
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Yeah, we know how that vote would go – less cupcake games for P5 AND they might get squeezed out of the idaho potato bowl?
Since everyone loves brackets so much let them have an NIT tournament for G05.
The fact that because GO5 have votes means we lose The deep south’s oldest rivalry and 3rd Saturday in October is wild.
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That’s a better idea. Make it a popularity contest. Let the bowls choose teams that are most likely to make their games a financial success.
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Open the pod door, Greg!
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I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
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Dave’s not here man.
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Geez, who were the brain surgeons who WENT AWAY FROM PLAYING THE ROTATING OPPOSITE DIVISION TEAMS BACK TO BACK about a decade ago with the last bout of expansion. Wasn’t Greg the Senior Associate Assistant Vice President of the Conference back them??? Nah, must of been some other guy then…
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“Man what a tough loss! We’ll get em back when we go there in… six years.”
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If ESPN doesn’t want to pay more for 9 over 8, this thing is done. Goodbye, DSOR. Goodbye, renewal of Texas/Texas A&M. Goodbye, 3rd Saturday in October. Goodbye, Meteor Game. Goodbye, Bama-LSU.
The only way this would happen is if the increase in TV revenue would make up for the lost bowl game revenue. Throw in the fact that many of these coaches want that bowl game besides the bonus is the additional practice time they get that has been taken away from the spring.
We’ll be told these games will be more special because they aren’t played every year. Get ready for that from Commissioner $ankey.
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… but Sankey said “pods really doesn’t work,” noting that they could create a similar issue that the league is currently dealing with where members don’t play each other home and away frequently.
It’s pretty wild living in the era where something patently incorrect is treated as a valid point simply by virtue of the fact that someone said it out loud with a straight face.
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Pods with an 8 game schedule get full H&H rotations in 6 years. The exact same turnaround the 12 team 5-1-2 SEC schedule had. You’re right that it’s absurd his statement is treated as fact.
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They’ll $acrifice every game that fan$ care about and blame the kid$ for wanting some of that $weet NIL money.
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Unless you’re the fan who’s always wanted a big playoff, what is a development over the last 15 years that has been driven by TV or administrators which is a positive for fans of the sport?
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I’ve been reliably assured that, beginning in 2024, we’ll have more than 6 or 13 days notice of gametimes. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go re-fill my kool-aid mug with the interlocking SEC on ESPN logo….
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I don’t know what pisses me off more, losing the tradition of the Auburn game or losing the right to face them every year now that their program is so sorry.
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Who says the six game win minimum to qualify for a bowl game isn’t behind the curtain on the chopping block.
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No pods, and yet somewhere there is an intern providing Facebook data on interest in a 4 team SEC playoff before the CFP.
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Play 9 games, our conference has built in cupcakes so what’s the problem? play one half the conference one year and the other half the next – we gonna whip ’em all anyway.
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