SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey met with league football coaches to discuss the importance of the conference championship game and a potential 16-team College Football Playoff model. The proposed format would include:
- The five highest-ranked conference champions
- 11 at-large spots
Key Discussion Points
- This was Sankey’s first in-depth discussion with coaches about expanding college football playoffs beyond the current four-team format.
- The coaches explored the "5+11 model" and how their teams could earn berths in such a system.
- Questions raised by coaches included, "Why wouldn’t we do that?" and discussions on the number of teams that could be included in an expanded playoff format.
Meeting Context
The discussion occurred during Day Two of spring meetings for Southeastern Conference athletic directors, presidents/chancellors, faculty athletics representatives, student-athletes/SAAC reps, and media relations personnel from each member institution. This marks another step toward determining potential changes to college football’s postseason structure starting in 2026 or later.
Coaches’ Preferences
It remains unclear which direction coaches might prefer:
- More automatic bids for their conferences
- An expansion of invitations to top programs regardless of affiliation
Alabama coach Nick Saban has been among those advocating for the latter option.
Future Discussions
Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoffs, expects discussions between FBS commissioners to continue through June before any formal votes are taken. He acknowledged that additional conversations involving other stakeholders may be necessary before any decision is made.
Stakeholders Involved
These stakeholders include major television partners such as:
- NBCUniversal/NBC Sports Group
- CBS Sports/CBS Television Network
- FOX Corporation/Fox Broadcasting Company
- ESPN Inc.
- ABC/ESPN Networks
- DirecTV/DirecTV Stream/Pay Per View
- Turner Broadcasting System/Turner Classic Movies/TNT/Syfy/HBO Max/Bleacher Report/The Ringer & Bleacher Report Live!
I’m Mark W. Lamplugh Jr., a visionary Chief Executive Officer, Board Member, and best-selling Author with over 25 years of experience driving significant revenue growth and optimizing ROI across the healthcare, wellness, and media industries. Throughout my career, I’ve consistently transformed underperforming operations into thriving ventures by building top-tier marketing organizations, implementing data-driven strategies, and leading transformational change. My empathetic, collaborative, and adaptable leadership style has allowed me to cultivate inclusive cultures of innovation, develop and retain top talent, and forge strong partnerships that fuel organizational success.
Adept in executive leadership, strategic business planning, and brand and marketing strategy, I have a proven track record of boosting annual revenues—achieving up to $1.3B in oncology over three years and generating $360M in mental health initiatives. My approach combines strategic vision with hands-on execution, as evidenced by my success in launching innovative facilities, expanding services for addiction and mental health care, and enhancing organizational brand visibility. As author of “The AI Marketing Playbook,” I contribute thought leadership on the integration of artificial intelligence in marketing, a role that showcases my commitment to staying at the forefront of industry innovation.
I also bring my insights and expertise to a broad audience as the host of cable tv & global streaming of “Street Level Marketing Show,” while my writing has been featured in major publications such as Entrepreneur, Business.com, The Startup, and Kivo Daily. Whether I’m implementing targeted digital marketing campaigns that engage over a million individuals monthly or overseeing multi-million dollar budgets to maximize return on investment, I approach every challenge with a combination of strategic planning, creative problem-solving, and unwavering dedication. Above all, I am passionate about expanding access to high-quality addiction and mental health care through innovative solutions that drive both patient outcomes and organizational growth.
Mark serves on the board of One World for Life, National Fire Heritage Center, and the Institute for Responder Wellness.
Mark (https://marklamplugh.com) is one of the top marketing executives in the United States and has revolutionized how companies reach potential clients thru influence, SEO, social, PR, and traditional marketing. His expertise in Marketing, Social Media, Digital Marketing, and Public Relations has generated millions of dollars in revenue for several national companies. Mark documents many of his techniques in his book “Beginners Guide to Social & Digital Media.” and “Marketing Playbook for Social Media,” which was named the top 100 social media marketing books of all time by Book Authority. He’s also a professional advocate for the behavioral and mental health of firefighters and other first responders. Marks articles have been published in Better Marketing, Startup Magazine, Social Media Today, Kivo Daily, Biz Catalyst 360, Fire Engineering, Firehouse Magazine, and several others.
One of his companies, niches, are marketing products and services to the public safety industry and their employees, specifically mental & behavioral health services. He can be reached for comment at ceo@influencemediasolutions.com
23,000 #1 Connections, 40,000,000 US B2B Contacts and 300,000,000 B2b/B2C email contacts as well as 1,000,000+ monthly social media reach. https://marklamplugh.com
