Josh Pate on potential SEC breakaway speculation: ‘I don’t think this is a bluff’

Talks of the SEC breaking away from the NCAA got turned up a notch or two on Monday. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey admitted the idea is “real,” and not just a negotiating tactic. Of course, Sankey still wants the idea out there and the threat of leaving existing to help in applicable negotiations. But people outside of the conference do not think the SEC is playing around. On3’s Josh Pate spoke on the matter, admitting he does not think they are bluffing. This comes from conversations with people over the past few months on the matter. [ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ] “It’s not a zero-sum thing, I don’t think,” Pate said via The Rich Eisen Show. “It’s not like he’s either totally serious about it or they’re totally using that to leverage the conversation in the right way. There’s probably a healthy mixture of both… Sometimes, it’s a total bluff and you get your bluff called or you get your way. I don’t think this is a bluff, and I know that because I spent the entire spring going around multiple conferences — SEC included — and a lot of off-the-record conversations sort of sounded even more colorfully than in the vain Greg Sankey’s comments sounded this morning. And that’s from anyone from ADs to university presidents.” So, from there, the question is why? Why would the SEC be willing to do something like this, changing the outlook of college football in a significant way? According to Pate, it’s because Sankey and everyone else in Birmingham knows the conference would be able to survive. The same thing can be said about the Big Ten, which is right up there with the SEC when it comes to popularity. “It’s going to be sustainable for the SEC, it’s going to be sustainable for the Big Ten. It’s just, at some point, if we’re the SEC, or the Big Ten, even, we look at it and say, ‘Is this even worth our time? Because we know we can survive. It’s them that need us. Not us that need them.'” Sankey made these comments at Media Days, as everyone prepares for the 2026 season. The SEC has plenty of short-term goals they want to accomplish, going three straight years without a national championship appearance. But long-term questions certainly exist, and if you ask Pate, something the SEC is really looking into.