📡 Grey Byrne on the SEC Championship: “I think the ship has sailed,” said the Alabama athletics director. “It’s run its course.” - AL.com

[SEC Sports]

https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2026/04/alabama-ad-talks-future-of-sec-championship-game-the-ship-has-sailed.html

Greg Byrne made his stance clear on the future of the SEC championship game during an interview with USA TODAY.

“I think the ship has sailed,” said the Alabama athletics director. “It’s run its course.”

Byrne’s reasoning: The expanded College Football Playoff.

Whether it expands to 16 or 24, adding teams to the playoff seems inevitable after it already has grown from four to 12. There won’t be change this year to the format, but some kind of change is on the horizon.

“It’s a great event,” said Byrne of the conference title game. “I don’t like the idea of it going away, but I think it’s reality, with an expanded playoff.”

Byrne, USA TODAY wrote, continues to favor 16, as the Big Ten and some others continue to support the 24-team model for the CFP. With a 16-team playoff and no conference title game, the sport could start the playoff sooner and end it sooner, too, Byrne told USA TODAY.

“I think we need to pick a lane,” he said. “We were headed for 16, and then there seemed to be pressure for 24. So, as soon as we get to 24, I guess you could say, ‘Well, we better go to 48.’ I mean, at some point, we have to pick a lane.”

Alabama has won the SEC championship game more than any programs since it began in 1992. The Crimson Tide has won 11 of them, with Florida at No. 2 with seven and Georgia third with six, the latest of which was a dominant win over Alabama in 2025.

 

[RTB X Bot]