Outside of the SEC and Big Ten there’s dissatisfaction with the new CFB Playoff expansion plan
The SEC and the Big Ten are expected to soon revise and expand the CFB Playoff format for 2026 and beyond. Others conferences are opposed but are not expected to derail it.
Within a few weeks, the CFB Playoff will expand to 14 or 16 teams, beginning in the 2026 season. Many conferences will not like the new plan, but as Ross Dellenger has explained only two votes matter and those votes belong to the SEC and the Big Ten.
Last spring a vote to redistribute Playoff revenue with the largest shared going to the SEC and the Big Ten, including control of the Playoff format from 2026 through 2031 was given to the two conferences. SEC and Big Ten athletic directors met last fall and are meeting again this week in New Orleans. The CFB Playoff Management Committee has a meeting scheduled for Feb. 25 in Dallas.
Ross Dellenger learned the “agreement grants the leagues decision-making powers over the format but directs them to have ‘meaningful consultation’ and collect ‘input’ from the other conferences before making their decision.”
Consultation and input does not mean collaboration. The SEC and the Big Ten earned decision-making authority because otherwise there was a credible chance the two conferences would create their own Playoff system, independent from the rest of college football. Insiders believe the two conferences were fully prepared to do so.
In reality, the ACC, Big 12, Notre Dame and the Group of Six conferences had no choice.
The Expanded CFB Playoff Format
- Either 14 or 16 teams, with one at-large slot at 14 teams or three at-large slots at 16 teams.
- The SEC and the Big Ten would each get four of the slots at either 14 or 16 teams.
- The other six or eight slots would go two each, to the ACC and the Big 12; one to the highest-ranked Group of Five (or Six, depending on what happens with Pac 12); and one to an at-large team which would be Notre Dame if the Fighting Irish are ranked among the top 14 teams. With 16 Playoff slots, there would be three at-large slots.
Vocal complainers about the format include ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips who said, “It needs to be a true championship, not artificial and not an invitational.” Phillips is joined by others in college football, who argue that such a format will be bad for the sport.
Even some SEC fans have voiced displeasure over the plan, including some Alabama Crimson Tide fans. Many of the complaints center on a complaint that automatic qualifiers have never been fair and the Playoffs, at whatever size should only be the best teams.
It is premature to call the change a ‘done deal’, but it appears there is only a slight chance of the SEC and the Big Ten not enacting exactly what they want.
Two benefits for fans is while alinging with the Big Ten, the SEC is expected to move to a nine-game schedule. Additionally, the two conferences are expected to create a plan for regular season inter-league games.
