“If we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own. I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough…” – Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart
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Georgia Bulldogs head football coach Kirby Smart finally put a voice to the SEC’s worst-kept secret, ripping off the filter to say what every coach in the conference has been thinking in private.
The debate over the SEC’s sheer dominance among other conferences might never die, but the league morphing into its own super conference isn’t a fresh revelation. It’s been an underlying current for a minute now, staring everyone right in the face through the smoke and mirrors of weekly press conferences.
Kirby Smart just brought it right out to the front.
“I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own,” Smart said Tuesday.
“I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough.”
SEC values at about $100 million annually, and breaking free would also mean more money kept in the conference.
“If we could actually function financially, it would make our programs more stable. We could support things financially.”
Smart might have been the pioneer from the SEC coaches to present the idea, but he is definitely not the first one to asserting nation adapting to rules that satisfy the conference.
“If we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own. I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough…” – Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart
When Greg Sankey walked up to the podium in Destin on Tuesday, whether or not SEC is consering stepping away from the NCAA was one of the most prominent questions, besides 24-team CFP expansion.
SEC has been the only holdout to the expansion taking place to a modest 16-team instead of the double of current 12-team Playoff. Almost every other major conference has casted their vote in favor.
Sankey suggested he doesn’t want his conference to “rush the decision,” per The Athletic.
“I don’t think consensus is needed (now). We’ll look at a variety of ideas, but really look at the process for how we come to a conclusion, whether it’s remaining at 12 or some other number,” Sankey said.
The SEC Commissioner further mentioned that the SEC has made it’s stance of the Playoff debate incredibly clear.
“I think we did a good job of informing our position last year on 16. We’ll consider other ideas, certainly this week and moving forward.”
He added: “I’ve never thought football was a tournament sport.”
GettyGeorgia Bulldogs head coach says the long-awaited thing about SEC breaking away from the NCAA.
There is a belief that if the SEC broke away it could more easily defend its rules from antitrust challenges because athletes have other options with other conferences.
“I’ve been to this meeting now 10-11 times, and it’s frustrating at times to say, well, we can’t do this because of litigation, we can’t do this because we get sued, we can’t do that,” Smart added.
“And we’re just trying to do things for the betterment of the sports and of the student-athletes, and that’s not curtailing what money they make. I’m not advocating that they can’t just fund what student-athletes make, I’m just trying to make it where it’s equal and it’s comparable footing for everybody, and it’s not a race to the bottom, as they say.”
The issue has been going on for years, and with it’s intensity hitting a fever pitch, a decision might be coming sooner than later.
Pankti Parmar Pankti Parmar is an Ahmedabad-based writer and editor who has spent more than a four covering sports, with a deep focus on college football. She has worked for publishing houses like The Sporting News and FanSided, where she reported, wrote, and edited coverage across the gridiron: from Saturday Night news and analysis to larger stories shaping the College Football Playoff.. More about Pankti Parmar
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