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Why are the SEC and B1G issuing statements after the fact explaining why the bill is flawed instead of shaping the bill before it got this far?

The SEC and B1G may still win the war (and we all hope they do), but they clearly lost the opening rounds. The anti-expansion language survived, the TV pooling language survived, and the conferences publicly acknowledged that their key concerns were not addressed. That's not what winning looks like. Maybe, the SEC and the B1G throw their weight around and stop it. But if that happens, it will be because they finally engaged after the bill gained traction, not because they were ahead of it from the beginning.

Follow the money when comes voting in the senate.

The clock is quickly running out on passing this. Maybe lame duck session in the winter or the next congress.

Bingo

This has actually turned into a really good conversation, and I appreciate everyone bringing different angles to it. The only thing I’d add is that mark‑up and committee movement don’t really change the bigger picture. Bills get rewritten, amended, gutted, and reshaped all the way through the process - today’s version isn’t tomorrow’s version, and it’s definitely not the final version. The SEC/B1G statement wasn’t meant to stop a committee mark‑up; it was meant to influence everything that comes after it. And that’s where the real leverage gets applied. So yeah, Campbell got his language into the committee draft this morning, but the real fight is still ahead, not behind.

Mark‑up isn’t “the rules are written and it’s over.” Mark‑up is literally where Senators throw amendments at a wall to see what sticks. Committees pass stuff out all the time that never survives contact with the full Senate, much less the House. Calling this a “slapdown” of the SEC/B1G is just reading way too much into a procedural step. And let’s not pretend the smaller‑school bloc suddenly won the war because they got their language into a committee version. The real fight starts when the full Senate, the House, and the courts get involved - and that’s where the SEC and Big Ten have the most leverage. This joint statement wasn’t meant to stop mark‑up; it was meant to influence everything after mark‑up, which is where the actual outcome gets decided. So sure, Campbell got his language into the draft this morning. But acting like that’s the final word is misunderstanding how federal legislation works. The heavyweights just entered the ring - the match hasn’t even started yet.

The “scoreboard” only matters when you’re looking at the final score, not the first quarter. Getting a bill through committee isn’t the finish line - it’s the easiest part of the process. Congress moves at the speed of erosion, and nothing about this bill is anywhere close to inevitable. The SEC/B1G didn’t miss the threat; they misjudged how seriously the smaller‑school bloc would push it. That’s why they’re stepping in now. And when the two richest, most powerful conferences in the country decide to engage, the dynamic changes fast. Committee momentum doesn’t mean much once the heavyweights start throwing their weight around. So yeah, Campbell got his early win. But the part that actually matters - the part where legislation has to survive the House, the Senate, amendments, markups, floor votes, and the courts - hasn’t even started. And that’s where the SEC and Big Ten have the most leverage

The bill is going through mark-up in the Senate as I type this, and once completed, it will progress to the Senate floor for full consideration by the end of the day today. So, the notion that “we’re not letting the little schools write the rules anymore” was just slapped down within the last 3 hours. The little schools political benefactors just WROTE the rules and attached them to the bill in the Senate this morning. Whether the bill ultimately passes the Senate and House is still TBD, but the rules are now written in the Senate so all that’s left is the voting.

The question is whether the SEC recognized the political threat early enough. Right now, the scoreboard says Campbell got his bill through committee and the SEC is issuing statements about why it doesn't like the result.

They did change the anti expansion last night to 700 million revenue and that now would include the ACC and Big 12, not just Big 10 and SEC. Sure that is not gonna make some folks in the ACC happy. Would mean Miami, FSU , Clemson, UNC are stuck where they are. As well with many other teams. Good luck with that. And no changes to the TV pooling rights. Gonna be fun to watch , but still say in the end DOA.

You're not wrong. Usually, when competitors team up and share control of something valuable, the law may see that as unfair. The difference here is that Congress may give them special permission to do it.

I get the frustration, but blaming Sankey for “not leading” here is missing the point. The SEC and Big Ten aren’t losing because Sankey is asleep - they’re losing because the smaller‑school coalition has been organizing for months while the two power leagues assumed Congress would never take the bill seriously. That’s why this joint statement exists in the first place: it’s the wake‑up call. And let’s be real: Sankey’s job isn’t to throw out wild proposals just to look busy. His job is to protect the SEC’s leverage, and the fastest way to lose leverage is to negotiate against yourself in public. The Big Ten floated the 24‑team playoff because they need it. The SEC didn’t, so they didn’t. Cody Campbell buying influence doesn’t mean the bill is suddenly inevitable. It just means the SEC/B1G finally realized they can’t sit back and assume the smaller schools won’t get their way. This statement is them stepping into the fight - not getting buried by it

I can't see any of the senators from Alabama, Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina, Missouri, or Miss. voting for this bill. So there goes your 60 needed.

@CJ Vogel in hell

First the big 10 built momentum behind their 24 team playoff idea. Now Cody has momentum in buying congress. I think it’s fair to ask just what kind of a leader the sec has in Sankey. Has he proposed anything or is he just standing around waiting for the birds to cover him with leaves?

I also think its a tough ask when you get a guy on base and have someone like Casey Borba up who just ********doesn't******** bunt ever and expect him to be able to lay one down. It was not our identity all year so why change it in the 7th inning in an elimination game in Omaha with a guy that you know can come unglued with one swing? Sort of a lost art now. especially in our league. SEC baseball wants 10 homers from 1-9 with your 1-5 guys being 15 plus bombers. Maybe if we dont lose those few guys to the draft who signed out of the portal last year, we have that. I do think though when you have an opened position like 1B available, you have to think about Josh Livingston earlier. Im not sure if there was injury issues or what. But coming out cold in the 9th inning and absolutely hammering a baseball made some questions marks in my head come up.

@Jeff Howe If I recall, Cozart and Crossland are draft eligible as sophomore next year, is that accurate?

Gonna be interesting because they need 60 votes. 53 Rep 45 Dem and 2 Ind in the Senate. There were two Republicans that voted against today and Tuberville has already said he would vote no. They may have a shot at 60, which I never thought they would. But the House is a whole different matter. And I don't see that happening period. The Majority Leader Scalise from Louisiana has already said no to it in its form . Congressional Black Caucus against . Much harder to pass there . But who knows . They go on recess in August so would be warp speed. Odds on that 🤣

No. The SEC and Big 10 just need to add 15 more schools and tell everyone else bye

The 2027 NFL Draft is going to be insane.

I think folks are reading way too much into this. The SEC and Big Ten didn’t put this out because the bill is “definitely passing,” and they didn’t put it out because they’re about to secede tomorrow morning. They put it out because they finally realized the smaller‑school coalition has been running circles around them in the legislative process, and this is their way of saying, “We’re not letting you write the rules without us anymore.” There’s nothing in the public record showing a new version of the bill or a new statement today - So until something official drops, all we really know is that the two power conferences are trying to flex before anything gets locked in. The politics, the antitrust talk, the Cruz/Campbell stuff - that’s all noise here. The only thing that matters is whether Congress wants to protect the small schools or let the market keep splitting. And right now, nobody in DC has shown they can get anything across the finish line. So yeah, it’s worth paying attention to, but let’s not act like this is the Treaty of Versailles. It’s just the SEC and Big Ten reminding everyone they’re still the adults in the room.

You can say this every year about the MPA counselors, but that's a LOADED group with several potential NFL franchise quarterbacks.