DESTIN, Fla. – One of the advantages to the one division, and eight- or nine-game conference football schedules being discussed at the SEC Spring Meetings, is the ability schools would have to play everyone in the league every four years.

Under the current two-division format, teams might go 12 years without playing another SEC member.

Speculation remains that conference presidents will vote on the new format set to begin when Oklahoma and Texas join the league by 2025.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks isn’t prepared to speculate either way but told UGASports that the idea of seeing each member school on a regular basis is an appealing one.

“I think that’s one of the things that comes up a lot, with (fans') ability to go to different venues. The fact that fans have never been to Texas A&M, for example, is something that’s brought up a bunch,” Brooks said. “I think that’s something you hear from other ADs with similar fan bases and similar wishes—to have more variability to seeing SEC venues.”

For Brooks, this is his first in-person SEC Spring Meeting after last year’s event was held virtually due to Covid-19.

“It’s a great group of 14 ADs and schools represented, and the conference office,” Brooks said. “People are respectful to the institutions, and they’re respectful for what’s best for the conference and the student athletes. You take that all into consideration and it’s a great group.”

As the youngest AD, Brooks said he does a lot of listening, but that he’s definitely been an active participant in the various discussions.

“Obviously, you respect people who have more experience than you, but you pick your spots,” he said. “My responsibly is to represent the University of Georgia, represent our viewpoints and what’s important to us, and what’s important to our student athletes, our staff and fans. So, you pick your spots, but be respectful at the same time.”

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters that he and Alabama head coach Nick Saban have put their public spat behind them.

While they may not still agree, for the good of the league, they’re not saying another word.

“We spoke in the beginning (of the meetings). What he accused us of—those things—it’s over with, we’re done talking about it,” Fisher said. “We’re moving on and trying to fix some of the problems of what we have in college football. We have a lot more pressing problems than our arguments.

I have no problem (with Saban).”

Reporters, however, continued to press Fisher throughout his 15-minute session at the Sandestin Beach Hotel.

When asked if he had any regrets, Fisher said, “No, he said what he said, and I said what I said. We’re moving on.”

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said he had no idea that he might be losing former basketball coach Mike White until he received a call from Georgia’s Josh Brooks asking for permission to interview him.

“The first I knew was when Josh called me on selection Sunday night and told me he wanted to talk with Mike,” Stricklin said.

He acknowledged seeing White on the opposite sideline will be strange.

“It will be unusual, right?” Stricklin said. “Making Mike a Gator, I really enjoyed my time being around him, and it was good seeing him this week. But it will be unusual seeing him on the other sideline."

Last week at the Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors meeting, Brooks told reporters that talks with Jacksonville as the host for the annual Georgia-Florida game were currently tabled until the league decides what direction the SEC will go with the new scheduling format.

Whatever is decided, Stricklin said wants the Bulldogs to be Florida’s permanent rival.

He also hopes the game will remain in Jacksonville.

“There’s a lot of tradition there,” Stricklin said. “The Gators feel pretty strongly about that; it’s been there for decades, and I think it serves both schools very well.”

Despite Saban’s accusations, Fisher told reporters he’s definitely in favor of all 14 SEC teams being on a level playing field when it comes to NIL.

“We have to have the uniformity, and I’ve said that from day one with how things are done, and the way things are done,” Fisher said. “But instead of going ready, aim shoot, we went ready, shoot, aim. That’s what has caused, in my opinion, all the discomfort across the board with how things are done, because each state has its own laws, everybody has their own thing. It is what it is.”

Fisher agrees that NIL is a positive for student-athletes.

“As far as NIL, I think the players do deserve something. I think they’ve earned the right to have those things and get what they have. But how you get there, I think that’s what the debate is all about,” he said. “But I think the portal is an issue, too, when you combine that with the NIL.

Those are issues, because you use those for inducements and enticements. And that’s wrong.”

Another idea that continues to be bandied about at the spring meetings is the elimination of games against FCS teams.

Fisher said that would be a mistake.

“I don’t care if there’s nine or eight. We’ve got Miami coming on for two years, and we’ve got Notre Dame two years after that. Whether we have eight or nine games, we’re going to play games like this,” Fisher said. “But I do believe this. I believe we need to plan an FCS, a I-AA game. I came from that league of ball; Bobby Bowden came from that league of ball. How do those schools make budget, make things for this game and the betterment of football? I think you have to trickle the wealth down to those schools so they can make budget.”

For the sport to survive, Fisher said it’s up to the other Power 5 schools to make sure that happens.

“If you don’t, and those schools have to fold up because they can’t get money for their programs, where do the high school kids get scholarships? How many kids get educated from small college football?” Fisher said. “I know those might not be the greatest games to watch, but there’s a lot of upsets there, too.”