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SEC commissioner weighs in on potential future of conference divisions

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Could divisions be coming to an end in college football?

Just a few weeks ago, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic spoke with Iowa athletic director Gary Barta about the future of college football with so much conference realignment and the potential of expanding the College Football Playoff. Barta, the former chairman of the Playoff committee, talked about the possibility of the B1G eliminating divisions.

If that happened, the most-likely scenario would be the conference having the top two teams in the league compete for a B1G title. It’s an interesting idea, but one that is far from a guaranteed look into the future.

On the Paul Finebaum Show Friday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey talked about the future of divisions in college football. Clearly, no decisions have been made, but it does sounds as if a one-division model across all leagues is a possibility.

“Options include this single-division structure. It doesn’t mean we would go to that, but perhaps there are no divisions,” Sankey said. “And if we do that, that needs to be carefully considered.”

Sankey says one of the biggest concerns is how a conference champion would be crowned.

It’s an early-stages discussion for potential changes coming to college football and the College Football Playoff structure. Maybe it’s not the best option, but it’s certainly in the conversation.

Below are Sankey’s full comments on the future of divisions:

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB