Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said Thursday that the SEC Championship Game “has run its course” and urged the conference to consider ending the December title game as the College Football Playoff expands.
Greg Byrne’s blunt assessment landed today in USA TODAY, where he said “I think the ship has sailed. It’s run its course,” arguing that an expanded College Football Playoff reduces the marginal value of a conference final and increases injury and seeding risk for top programs. Byrne said he favors a 16‑team playoff and urged conferences to “pick a lane” rather than keep enlarging the field.
“It’s a great event,” Byrne said of the SEC Championship Game. “I don’t like the idea of it going away, but I think it’s reality, with an expanded playoff.”
The comments are notable because the SEC title game, first played in 1992, is a major television and revenue event and Alabama has won the most SEC titles (11) — making Byrne’s stance striking coming from one of the game’s biggest beneficiaries. He called the game “a great event” but said reality may force change as the CFP expands.
In the most recent edition of the SEC Championship Game, Georgia defeated Alabama, 28-7.
Voices from other programs have echoed similar thinking. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte has also publicly questioned the point of the SEC Championship Game and suggested the league should rethink whether it’s necessary in an expanded playoff era. Former Ole Miss and new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has also echoed that sentiment.
For now, the SEC Championship Game stays on the calendar, which is slated for Saturday, December 5 this season. But Byrne’s public call ensures the title game’s future will be a central topic as CFP expansion talks continue. Expect the conference, broadcasters and member schools to weigh financial tradeoffs, competitive fairness, and player health before any formal change.
In that logic, we should eliminate the SEC tournament in college basketball, and all P5 conference tournaments of any sport and any kind.
Basketball is different—–way different than football. In basketball, most of the teams make the conf tourney and teams can play their way into the field. Football you can play your way out—–BYU and should have been Alabama last year.
Alabama should have been dropped for the playoff for Notre Dame.
In basketball, the team that wins the regular season conference is going to the tourney–so are teams through 2-6 at the very least in a power conference.
You are comparing apples to oranges.
I would agree with John that the two are worlds apart, and the SEC in particular trying to get half of the field in football in is hurt by playing the conference championship.
I would argue, however, the conference tournament in basketball makes the regular season pointless. They are talking about getting rid of those because that multiple day event is bringing in too much money to scrap it, but when you play a nearly 30 game regular season, you shouldn’t need to have every team in the conference involved and the 2-6 number is way low. What did the SEC have in the 2025 tournament, 14? Way too many for the length of the regular season.
Too much money involved just to scrap it. Surprised he even suggested it.
Exactly my thought, if its still bringing in money I doubt they scrap it, even though its more unneeded as the playoff expands (no FCS conference with an autobid to the FCS playoffs has conference championship games)
I’ve said this for awhile now, if your good enough for the conference championship game your in the playoffs so why play those anymore. It’s a money maker for the conference but they got money coming in from other ways.
This did not come out of the blue. It was calculated. I suspect there was abundant discussion behind the scene with Birmingham and New York with multiple parties involved. It all due to future CFP expansion which is pretty much a given.
He is right.
Ironically, the SEC Championship Game kind of opened the door for further conference realignment into the 2000s and 2010s because conferences wanted to get to 12 teams so they could have a conference championship game.
If the SEC never created a championship game, I doubt we see the super conferences that we do today.
Astute observvation
The conference championship games going away seems an inevitability with an expanded playoff. But does the SEC reclaim the conference championship weekend with “play-in”/”wild card” type games to further boost bubble team profiles? Or does the SEC (and other conferences) use the 9th conference game instead akin to the PAC’s new scheduling model instead? A play-in appears as a certainty with automatic bid expansion but not so sure if the auto-bids model remains the same as the current format.
Perhaps the SEC will adopt this play in game thought started by the Pac 12.. It took the SEC almost a decade to adopt the Big Sky model (13 teams) of paying all conference members 2X 1H/1A in a 4 year span. Instead of the 6 conference foes 2X in 12 years business plan the SEC fomented on the SEC fans. Georgia has yet to play TAMU in College Station since 2012 when TAMU joined the SEC. TAMU has played in Athens 1X in 2019.
or just go back to a 2 or 4 team championship and then this game returns to being one of the best games all year and not a joke exhibition
The “LOVE” of money is the root of all evil.
Can not help it that popularity of CFB have skyrocketed for last 40 years.
The best part of what Mr. Byrne said is that “he favors a 16‑team playoff and urged conferences to “pick a lane” rather than keep enlarging the field”!
I would be in favor of expanded CFP playoff if all four P4 championships games Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 & ACC are eliminated.
It makes sense and gives the SEC or other conferences who follow suit a extra week of regular season. Assuming the season ends the CCG game. You give teams a #13 game or 14 if playing @hawaii. Going to 13 games removes the 6-6 school from going to a bowl game.
The Bowls would make a good weekday fair between CFP rounds on the Saturdays.
so i guess the SEC champion would be the best conference record. so say hello to 4-way champions as bama, uga, ole miss and t$m all finished 7-1 this year. no give me the title game and one champion..
Alabama has competition in the SEC now, and the kids are hitting the PORTAL making MONEY like every body else. The PLAYOFF committee needs reorganizing. These BIG Institutions are not able to coral these players for 3 to 4 years now. That’s what this is all about.
PEACE ✌🏽