There will be plenty of big news coming out of the biannual SEC meeting this week. The activity kicked off on Tuesday, and for 72 hours, there will be both open and behind-the-scenes conversations that could lead to monumental changes.
Early attention on Tuesday centered on comments by SEC football coaches. Beyond standard coachspeak, refreshing statements made by a few SEC coaches. The most refreshing, because they were the most honest, came from Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko.
Elko is not a headline chaser. He is a highly respected football coach who has been almost the exact opposite of Jimbo Fisher, both in communication and results. The Aggies are fortunate to have him.
Asked about the proposed 24-team College Football Playoff format, Elko responded, "What does Mike Elko want? 40. Then I won’t get fired. It's ok to make it hard to get to the playoff. ...
None of us are answering for the good of the sport. We’re answering for the good of ourselves."
Elko is one of the few college football coaches who believe making the game a tournament sport is a mistake. Apparently, a majority of SEC Athletic Directors disagree. According to an On3 poll, 14 of 16 SEC ADs had nine in favor of either 20 or 24 teams for Playoff expansion. Greg Sankey's preference of 16 was supported by just four ADs.
Sobering words for college sports from Mike Elko
Mike Elko said something else, having nothing to do with playoff expansion. In three words, Elko explained the greatest risk to college sports: " There is no governance."
Elko added, "If we don’t find a way to create some level of regulation in the market, a lot of people are going to go bankrupt pretty quick. We’re two and a half years away from having an NIL budget that’s greater than the TV revenue for our entire university."
More than a few fans will agree with Elko. Some of them will hopefully anticipate his words, leading to action. Most will conclude that Elko's honesty will largely go unheeded. At least Mike Elko tried.
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