SEC commissioner Greg Sankey isn't budging on the College Football Playoff. He still wants a 16-team field. He still doesn't want 24.

Speaking Monday at the APSE Southeast Region meeting at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham , Sankey laid out why a bigger bracket worries him, even as the Big Ten and a growing chorus of coaches push to double the current 12-team format.

His resistance comes with a notable wrinkle. Sankey supports expanding the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments from 68 teams to 76 starting in 2026-27, even as fans and analysts pan that move as a money grab.

Why Sankey is fighting the 24-team CFP model

Sankey's central argument centers on what he calls the "tipping point," where extra playoff spots begin hollowing out the relevance of November football.

"To me, there is a tipping point in November where a game like I just described, that goes from, 'Hey, we're at 6-2 hanging on for dear life, we really don't have a chance at a four-team playoff but you've been…