Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK
Pennsylvania congressman Brendan Boyle issued a warning on Monday night to the Big Ten and SEC, calling for an investigation into possible collusion. His remarks came on the heels of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey throwing shade at the unofficial alliance formed by the ACC and Big 12 conferences.
Because of the latest proposal to expand the College Football Playoffs, conferences that aren’t the SEC and Big Ten are concerned that they will be left out in the cold (even more than they already are).
On Monday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was asked about potential changes to the College Football Playoffs, particularly how he balances what’s best for the SEC and what’s best for college football as a whole.
“I don’t need lectures from others about the good of the game. I don’t lecture others about good of the game and coordinating press releases about good of the game, okay, you can issue your press statement, but I’m actually looking for ideas to move us forward,” Sankey said during his terse response to the question.
He said this amid reports that his conference and the Big Ten are discussing a future scheduling partnership, and are both pushing for a new 16-team College Football Playoffs that would award the Big Ten and SEC four guaranteed spots each.
Greg Sankey’s comments also come after ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips previously declared that the good of the game is a “responsibility I take very seriously” and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark claimed what he is doing is in “the best interest of the sport.”
Monday night, Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan Boyle, who is also the Democratic ranking member of the House Budget committee, responded with a warning to the Big Ten and SEC on X (Twitter).
“Let me state this as clearly as I can: The Big Ten and SEC should be very, very careful about some of the decisions they are about to make,” Boyle wrote. “Because they appear hellbent on ruining major college football. I think they need congressional hearings into their collusion.”
How that would solve the problem remains to be seen, especially since the Big Ten and SEC could theoretically just bolt the playoffs completely and create their own 34-team league if push comes to shove.