Push to Expand College Football Playoff Stumbles

The objections centered around several subjects. One was the size of the playoff field; Phillips, for example, said recently he would only support an expansion to eight teams, and he was not in favor of any changes until any changes in the N.C.A.A. constitution are confirmed, which could happen next week. Other worries were related to how many berths would be guaranteed and what would happen to existing bowls.

Sankey, who spoke with reporters more than an hour after Monday’s final meeting broke up, said he found it perturbing that conferences who beat the drum to expand three years ago were now objecting to a proposal to do just that.

“I genuinely never assumed this would just be a rubber stamp, but I also know that when issues are identified, there has to be a resolve to work to solutions and there have to be solutions identified,” said Sankey, who would not identify which commissioners he was speaking about.

He also said that if the negotiations went back to the start, there would be no guarantee that the SEC, the dominant league in college football, would be willing to make whatever concessions it was willing to make now.

Any optimism for change was built around the enormous financial windfall that a larger tournament would deliver to the leagues. There are also substantial frustrations with the current system, which debuted with the 2014 season and replaced the Bowl Championship Series.

Thirteen universities have made playoff appearances in the four-team format, and some of them, like Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State, have repeatedly been contenders. (The 2017 season ended with an Alabama-Georgia title game as well.)

Also, entire conferences — indeed, most of the ones that run the playoff — have always or regularly been excluded. This season was the first time that a Group of Five league had a team earn a playoff berth, when Cincinnati was ranked fourth. Central Florida was excluded in 2017 and 2018 despite undefeated regular seasons, just like Cincinnati was in 2020.

❤️ Support Independent Journalism

Your contribution keeps our reporting free, fearless, and accessible to everyone.

Secure via Razorpay • 12 monthly payments • Cancel anytime before next cycle