Kirby Smart supports SEC leaving NCAA if there aren't major changes: 'I'm not afraid to break away'

SEC’s “Break‑away” Proposal Highlights Growing Frustration Over NCAA Governance

At this week’s spring meetings in Florida, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart took an unexpected step: he called for the SEC to consider governing itself if the NCAA cannot establish consistent, nationwide rules for college football. The proposal reflects a broader debate over the sport’s current regulatory structure, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) shrinking authority, and the looming impact of the Name‑, Image‑, and Likeness (NIL) rules.

A conference on the brink

During the SEC’s 2024 spring meetings, Smart told reporters that he has long warned the conference’s leadership that the SEC “is strong enough to go out and play” on its own if “we can’t find rules that everybody plays by.” He added that a financially stable, self‑governing conference would let its programs “support things financially…do our own rules.” The suggestion was not a dramatic declaration but a candid acknowledgment that the current NCAA framework is “almost cosmetic” and has largely devolved to handling individual player waivers rather than shaping the sport’s structure.

“Being a part of the NCAA has not added the clarity we need,” said Smart. “If we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play on our own.” The coach’s comments echoed earlier frustrations that the NCAA has failed to impose consistent limits on rosters, construction projects, spending, and overall oversight of the sport.

The SEC commissioner weighs in

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who was in the White House in early March to discuss national standards, confirmed that the conference is “frustrated” by the lack of progress on national rules. He said the talk of “our own rules” is not new and is “the expression of frustration about the lack of progress.” Sankey emphasized that the SEC still believes national standards are necessary but warned that if those can’t be achieved “we’ll have to look at more conference‑led regulation, but that’s the reality we’re facing.”

Sankey’s remarks underscore the broader anxiety among conference leaders that the NCAA’s regulatory role is diminishing. While the SEC has historically been a powerful entity—home to 14 football programs and the most lucrative media deals in college sports—the conference has not yet made a formal bid to secede from the NCAA, unlike the 2021 announcement of the Big Ten’s intent to change its name and restructure its governance.

Voices beyond the SEC

The suggestion that a major conference could operate independently has found support outside the SEC. A Big 12 athletic director, unnamed in the reports, said he is not opposed to the idea of the SEC and Big Ten leaving the NCAA. “We’d be fine with the Big Ten and SEC breaking away,” the director told reporters. The remark was echoed by former Heisman Trophy winner and college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who publicly stated he would support the Power Four conferences leaving the NCAA if national standards remain elusive.

Herbstreit’s stance adds weight to the argument that the governing structure of college football may be out of step with the sport’s realities. He has long criticized the NCAA’s inability to keep pace with the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics, citing the emergence of NIL deals that give players unprecedented leverage over schools and conferences.

The NIL puzzle

The debate over NIL is a key part of the conversation. While the NCAA has enacted rules allowing student‑athletes to profit from their names, images, and likenesses, many argue that the new regulations create a patchwork of rules that vary from conference to conference. This disparity complicates recruiting, scholarship offers, and overall competitiveness.

Smart, who has overseen Georgia’s recent success on the field, believes that a self‑governing SEC could create a more consistent and transparent framework for handling NIL deals, roster limits, and spending. “If we could actually function financially, it would make our programs more stable,” he said, suggesting that a conference‑only model might help the SEC establish clearer financial guidelines.

National legislation on the horizon

The possibility of a conference breakaway has also spurred discussion about federal legislation. Several lawmakers have expressed interest in establishing national standards for college sports to prevent conferences from creating a competitive advantage through differing rules. However, lawmakers admit that passing new legislation is unlikely in the short term, especially given the compressed timeframe before the start of the next football season.

The SEC’s spring meeting served as a platform for coaches and administrators to voice their concerns, but the conference’s leadership remains divided over the practicality of seceding from the NCAA. While the idea has traction among some administrators and analysts, it faces significant hurdles—including legal, financial, and logistical challenges associated with disentangling a conference from the NCAA’s broader governance structure.

Where does this leave college football?

The SEC’s proposal signals that the status quo is unsustainable for a conference that commands a sizable share of national media revenue and produces some of the country’s most competitive programs. Whether the conference will pursue independence, or simply push for stricter national standards within the NCAA, remains to be seen.

If the NCAA can’t deliver consistent rules and clear oversight, conference‑led regulation may become the new norm. That would mean that each major conference could tailor its own policies—potentially creating a fragmented landscape where the rules for roster limits, construction, and financial oversight vary widely. For college football fans, the stakes are high: the quality of competition, the fairness of player compensation, and the overall integrity of the sport could all be impacted.

For now, the conversation continues. The SEC, the Big 12, and other power conferences will need to decide whether to work within the existing NCAA framework or to forge a new path that may ultimately reshape how college football is governed in the United States.