SEC’s Playoff Grab Now Extends to March Madness

The SEC’s appetite for control has found a new target, and this time it’s the NCAA Tournament.

During SEC Media Days, Commissioner Greg Sankey confirmed what many already suspected. The conference wants expansion, and it wants it now, regardless of the impact on what many consider the best postseason in sports.

Sankey, who helped lead the NCAA transformation committee, said last year’s format deserves “reexamination.” He’s made clear that the league would prefer more at-large bids and fewer auto-qualifiers. It’s a vision built to benefit the major conferences, particularly the SEC and Big 12, and one that leaves little room for mid-majors or Cinderella bids that have long defined March Madness.

This push comes on the heels of the SEC placing 14 teams in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, a record-setting feat built on reputation and branding. Rather than defending the bracket’s balance, Sankey and league officials want to widen the field, opening the door for even more power-conference teams with average records to take up space once reserved for smaller leagues.

The implications are clear. Automatic bids for one-bid leagues could be reduced or devalued. The committee’s focus could shift further toward resume metrics that reward brand and scheduling power, not performance. For the Big 12 and for other leagues that value competition across the full Division I landscape, this move signals trouble.

There is no real disguise to it. This isn’t about growing the game. It’s about growing influence, media rights, and control over the postseason product. The SEC sees an opening to tilt another marquee event in its favor, and it’s pushing hard to make that happen.

The rest of college basketball should treat this like what it is: a takeover attempt.