Greg Sankey commits to being 'healthy colleague' with Tony Petitti despite College Football Playoff tension

As the debate continues about the future of the College Football Playoff, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he has regular communication with the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti despite their different viewpoints. He committed to being a “healthy colleague” with Petitti and the rest of the commissioners with more discussions on the horizon.

The SEC and Big Ten are front-and-center with regard to the CFP’s future. The conferences have the bulk of control with regard to expansion, but they have different preferences on what an expanded field would look like.

[ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ]

A 24-team model has gained traction with support from the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC. However, Sankey said he prefers a 16-team field if the CFP was to expand. Staying at 12 is also on the table, both commissioners said during their respective spring meetings.

But despite their disagreements about the CFP, Sankey said he and Petitti maintain regular contact. In fact, the two talked twice Friday. He also detailed conversations he has with other commissioners, even those outside the Power Four, to illustrate how to work through differences in opinions.

“I’m going to say something here – I don’t advertise this. Every month, I gather a group [of] about six conference commissioners,” Sankey said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “They’re not at the SEC level. It’s not like the ‘Power Four,’ as they’re described. But I just reached out and said, when I was commissioner of the Southland Conference, the ability to talk to Roy Kramer and Jim Delany was really valuable from a learning experience and a connection experience. Fast-forward, we did that in COVID. So I’ve continued to do that.

“This isn’t like some runaway. This is effort, this is an acknowledgement that we are in working relationships in Division I. Would I have designed the system this way? No. But I’m more than happy to be a healthy colleague and do my best to engage, to inform, again, to debate, to disagree.”

Throughout their time working on different issues facing college sports, Greg Sankey said he has had many discussions and debates with Petitti about the landscape. Those conversations centered around issues such as the transfer portal, College Football Playoff and the College Sports Commission.

Sankey said he “appreciates” that aspect of his relationship with Petitti. He also called back to a lesson he learned in college at State University of New York at Cortland about how to work through disagreements.

“I was at my alma mater giving a commencement speech in Cortland, New York and one of the observations from one of my professors is in her class … I learned how to disagree without being disagreeable,” Sankey said. “How to research, how to take a position, how to defend a position or a point of view and how to adapt.

“I think that’s part of what happens with Tony and I. I think that will happen in Congress, to the earlier question you asked me, and I think that’s there with colleagues.”