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

As with everything else in the modern world of college football, there are debates and disagreements about how to handle the NIL and other major issues surrounding the sport.

There is hope for more structure and consistent rules on issues such as roster limits, construction, spending, oversight and enforcement. Weakened over time, the NCAA has become an almost cosmetic structure that primarily affects individual player waivers.

There remains hope that national legislation will create some guardrails around college football. But due to the difficulties of getting things done in D.C. and the compressed time frame before the season starts, there’s little chance the new rules will go into effect anytime soon. This raises the question: What to do next?

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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart has his own idea, and it’s a surprising one: Let the SEC break up and govern itself.

“I’ve said this to our president for a long time, I’ve been a big proponent that if we can’t find rules that everyone will follow, then we should play on our own,” Smart said. he told reporters this week at the SEC spring meetings in Florida. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid of leaving and saying our conference is strong enough to go out and play.

“If we could actually make it work financially, our programs would be more stable. We could support them financially. I’m talking about all sports and we enforce our own rules; I’m all for that.”

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and his staff celebrate after winning the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Alabama on Dec. 6, 2025 in Atlanta, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said something similar, declaring “disappointment” in the lack of clarity going forward.

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“It’s nothing new that we’re talking about our own rules,” Sankey said earlier this week. “What you’re hearing is an expression of frustration about the lack of progress, and I’ll go back to March 6. I was at the White House and spoke about the need for national standards. We still believe we need national standards. If those aren’t being achieved, we’re going to have to look at more conference-focused regulation, but that’s the reality we face.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey speaks at a press conference before celebrating the University of Oklahoma joining the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024 in Norman, Oklahoma. (IMAGN)

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Could this really happen? One Big 12 athletic director doesn’t think that’s too far-fetched, and even says it wouldn’t be a problem if the Big Ten and SEC split. Kirk Herbstreit, a prominent figure in the sport, also said he would support the Power Four leaving the NCAA.

When so many big voices say the same thing, suddenly it becomes much more likely. As hard as it is to believe, it may not be long for this world before the NCAA rules college football.