Georgia's Kirby Smart on future of college football, SEC: 'I'm not afraid to break away'

Destin, Fla. — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is not running away from saying the quiet part out loud. Entering SEC meetings this week, discussions about the possibility of self-governance were expected.

That option is becoming a popular topic with the lack of success in Washington, D.C. Similar conversations were held last week among Big Ten leaders. Smart has become a leading voice among SEC coaches and addressed the possibility of self-governance head-on on Tuesday.

“I’ve said this for a long time to our president, I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play on our own,” Smart told reporters. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.

“If we could actually function financially, it would make our programs more stable. We could support things financially. I’m talking about all the sports and do our own rules – I’d be all for that.”

The frustration around roster spending, lack of oversight and self-governance has created a climate of change at SEC meetings. Last week, the SCORE Act died. The NCAA-backed bill would have granted conferences legal protection to enforce transfer movement and cap compensation. But the bill was pulled from markup due to opposition from the Congressional Black Caucus.

The lone hope for Congressional legislation now sits in the Senate. Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell have been negotiating the final stages of bipartisan legislation for more than a week. And while it is the best chance for the NCAA and power conferences, the Senate is working on a deadline. The odds of any legislation moving forward after the summer recess in August are slim with midterms around the corner.

“The fact that we’re talking about our own rules isn’t anything new,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said on Monday night. “What you’re hearing is the expression of frustration about the lack of progress, and I’ll go back to March 6. I was in the White House, and I spoke about the need for national standards. We still believe we need national standards. If those can’t be achieved, then we’ll have to look at more conference-led regulation, but that’s the reality we’re facing.”