Kirby Smart backs SEC leaving NCAA if no major changes: ‘I’m not afraid to split’
As with everything else in the world of modern football, there is debate and disagreement about how to handle the NIL and other major problems in the sport.
There is hope for more structure and consistent rules around things like inventory limits, construction, spending, monitoring and enforcement. The NCAA, weakened over time, has become an almost cosmetic body that primarily deals with individual player waivers.
There remains hope that national legislation will create boundaries around college football. But with the difficulty of getting things done in DC and the time pressure before the season starts, it’s highly unlikely that the new rules will go into effect any time soon. Which begs the question, what should you do next?
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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart has an idea, and it’s surprising: let the SEC divide and rule itself.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Charlotte in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
“I’ve been saying this for a long time to our president, I’ve been a big advocate that if we can’t get the rules everyone plays by, we have to play by ourselves,” Smart told reporters at the SEC’s spring meetings in Florida this week. “I’m not afraid of that, I’m not afraid to break out and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.
“If we can work financially, it would make our programs more stable. We can support things financially. I’m talking about all the sports and making our own rules – I can be all of that.”
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and his team celebrate after winning the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Alabama in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey echoed this, explaining that there is “frustration” about the lack of clarity moving forward.
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“The fact that we’re talking about our rules is nothing new,” Sankey said earlier this week. “What you’re hearing is an expression of frustration with the lack of progress, and I’ll be back on March 6. I was at the White House, and I talked about the need for national standards. We still believe we need national standards. If those don’t happen, we’ll have to look at other congressional-led regulations, but that’s the reality we’re facing.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during a press conference before the celebration of the University of Oklahoma joining the Southeastern Conference in Norman, Okla., on July 1, 2024. (MAGN)
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Is this really possible? However, one Big 12 athletic director seemed to think it wasn’t too far off, even saying he would be fine with the Big Ten and SEC splitting up. Kirk Herbstreit, a prominent voice in sports, also said he would support the Power Four leaving the NCAA.
When a lot of these big words mean the same thing, suddenly there’s a lot of potential. As hard as it may be to believe, the NCAA’s dominance of college football may not last long in this world.
