CFB world reacts to SEC & Big Ten AD's joint meeting news: "Greg Sankey would destroy the sport just to get his way"

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey is one of the most powerful men in college sports due to the influence he wields. It also helps that he heads one of the most powerful and resource-rich college football conferences.

Therefore, when the two premier conferences in the country, the SEC headed by Sankey and the Big Ten headed by Tony Petitti, constituted an advisory group in February, college sports sat up and took notice.

Also, there is a meeting between the athletic directors of the two conferences set for next month in Nashville, Tennessee, with topics such as the House vs. NCAA settlement, the new college football playoff format and a possible postseason scheduling agreement.

College football fans on X had mixed reactions to what seems like a consolidation of power by Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti.

"You mean espn and fox are meeting to talk about their plans for college football," one fan commented.

Some fans saw it as the advent of a big change in the landscape of college sports.

"Make the SEC play one more conference game then have cross conference scheduling. The current scheduling is horrible and desperately needs an update," one fan tweeted.

"It’s only a matter of time before the SEC and Big 10 demote the ACC and Big 12 to the G5 level while taking their best teams," another fan tweeted.

"SEC & Big Ten: start your own freaking league and let the rest enjoy college Football," one fan tweeted.

Greg Sankey tries to find balance in leadership position

Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti have positioned themselves as the new leaders in college sports and are at the vanguard of decision-making during a transformative period in sports.

In 2021, when the SEC voted to add the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners, it inadvertently set off a chain of conference realignment and expansion moves that are still being felt in college sports.

After the SEC spring meetings in June, the outspoken Sankey revealed the message he passed to presidents in his conference regarding his leadership style.

"There are times when I think I have a correct perspective that I'm clear in sharing, but I think this becomes a we issue," Sankey said via ESPN. "I said to my presidents -- I was very direct -- 'You expect me to be a statesman, there's times you have be forceful,' and you have to find a balance in these leadership positions between both.

"That doesn't mean I haven't had a phone call from one of my colleagues saying, 'Why did you do this?' or 'Why did you say that?'" Sankey said. "That's OK. That's the way this big college athletics issue that involves 32 Division 1 conferences ... that's the way it works. That's our reality."

The SEC and Big Ten commissioners agreed to the new college football playoff revenue distribution model, which distinguished the two conferences as the premier ones in the country financially.