Drinkwitz Questions College Football’s Direction After SEC Title Game Ends

The Southeastern Conference’s 2026 football championship will be the final game in a 35-year run, the conference announced on November 10. The decision follows the College Football Playoff’s planned expansion to 24 teams next season, which will remove the SEC title game from the schedule going forward.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said the change raises questions about the purpose of conference membership if teams no longer compete for a conference championship. He also questioned whether a system built around a national playoff would make long-distance conference games worthwhile.

Drinkwitz said he valued conference championship games but agreed there would be little reason to continue them under the expanded playoff format. He described the shift as part of a series of changes in college football over the past six years, including playoff expansion and the transfer portal.

He argued that these changes have diminished parts of the sport that once mattered to fans. Drinkwitz said bowl games have lost value, roster uncertainty makes it harder for supporters to follow a team’s development from season to season, and regional rivalries have weakened as conferences have become less regional. He said the SEC remains an exception to that trend.