Kirby Smart advocates for SEC breaking away from NCAA: 'We should play by our own rules'

The rumor mill is once again circling with thoughts on the separation of the SEC and NCAA. The latest news in this chapter? Georgia football's head coach Kirby Smart, who advocated for the SEC's independence, under the right financial circumstances. 

This question is sure to run rampant with spring meetings occurring for many of the NCAA's best conferences. And for the SEC, this may not be a true statement for long. 

Different sectors within the NCAA have struggled to come to a consensus on rules and standards in an era of autonomy and NIL. The SEC wants a larger share in the NCAA's decision-making process because the conference produces a disproportionately higher share of the revenue than most. The NCAA is hesitant to give up that leverage. 

Here is what to know about Kirby Smart's comments regarding the SEC's potential departure from the NCAA.

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Kirby Smart advocates for SEC breaking away from NCAA 

Smart was asked for his thoughts on a potential SEC independence Tuesday at the SEC spring meetings. The Bulldogs head coach spoke openly about his lack of fear surrounding the potential move.

“I’ve been a huge advocate that we can’t find rules that everybody played by, then we should play by our own. I’m not afraid of that,” Smart said. “I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and have and play" 

Smart elaborated on this statement, expressing that while this make sense for football, the question can't be closed there. The SEC sports landscape is broad and includes many more programs than just his. 

I mean, like, if we could actually function and it financially would make our programs more stable, and we could support things financially. I’m talking about all the sports and do by our own rules. I’d be all for that.”

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Will SEC break away from NCAA? 

The short answer? Nobody knows. 

After the House v. NCAA settlement, all NCAA schools were limited to $20.5 million in revenue sharing for the 2025-26 academic year. But many of the high-major programs in the SEC and Big Ten, for example, felt that this salary cap of sorts was restricting their chances to succeed at the highest level. 

As a result, the thought of disbanding from the NCAA has been floated. Perhaps it will happen, but it may just be bargaining leverage for the schools who generate the most money for the NCAA. These schools want to play by their rules with their overflowing pockets. 

“[The SEC's] voice matters a great deal in part because they take college sports seriously and play at a very high level,” said NCAA president Charlie Baker during last year's Big 12 spring meetings. “But I think there’s a path forward here where we can figure out a way to keep everybody in a place where they’re comfortable that they’re both being heard and having the opportunity to play and compete.”

Agreements and deals are far from official, and there are numerous factors to weigh across all sports programs. But there is certainly discussion being had and the ideas may manifest themselves in a plan before long. Or at least, that's Kirby Smart's hope.