Georgia head coach Kirby Smart used his appearance at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, to argue that if Congress fails to pass federal legislation on college sports, the SEC should consider governing itself independently of the NCAA. His comments reflect growing frustration among power-conference coaches over the lack of consistent national rules on issues such as name, image and likeness payments and player transfers, which they say has created unfair competitive imbalances across college football.

Smart's remarks come as SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has separately acknowledged that the conference is exploring options outside the NCAA's current structure. The comments were made against a backdrop of increasing parity in college football, with Georgia, a four-time reigning national contender under Smart, not having won a national title in four years. Smart's stance adds to a chorus of SEC coaches publicly airing grievances about the state of college sports governance during this year's media days event.