and the fight over the CFP format. They are interrelated issues, but they are not the same thing. The media conglomerates do drive conference realignment and expansion by cutting bigger media rights checks. That doesn't mean they have any actual power when it comes to the CFP format, or the governance of the sport writ large. You need to understand the difference between and the respective power dynamics of the lobbyist (where the money comes from) and the politician (who holds the actual power.) Even some politicians do not understand these dynamics and how to effectively work within them, which is how they end up labeled *****s for lobbyists. There's not a lot of difference between that, and the dynamics at play between the media conglomerates (where the money comes from) and the university presidents (who actually have the power and make the decisions.) The conference commissioners and, to a lesser extent, the ADs, are merely shepherds who herd the university presidents the best they can to get what they want done. Greg Sankey, while influential, has very little authority to do anything on his own.