Report: Big Ten Commissioner Has Discussed Expanding CFP to 14 or 16 Teams
The College Football Playoff is set to expand to 12 teams during the 2024 season, but there are some who reportedly hope to see it grow beyond that in the future.
Per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, amid the current era of conference realignment, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti "has discussed with commissioners expansion models that include 14 and 16 teams with multiple automatic qualifiers to major conferences."
Dellenger pointed out that the four power leagues have "swelled to 16-18 members each," prompting the CFP format to be "back under the microscope for further examination."
The CFP Management Committee, which is made up of commissioners from the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, is set to meet on Monday and Tuesday in Dallas to iron out the details of implementing the 12-team playoff this fall.
ESPN's Heather Dinich noted that Petitti's interest in expansion is not new, as he "initiated a discussion about a 16-team format" during a meeting "earlier this fall." Dinich added that "there's no indication anything will change in the short term," but Petitti's perspective "makes sense from a pure math and access standpoint, as he's now in charge of 18 teams, many of whom harbor legitimate playoff expectations."
The Big Ten is set to welcome USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon to the conference. Also, the SEC is set to expand to 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. Petitti, who took over as Big Ten commissioner last spring, said he believes it's imperative to continue discussing the best path forward for the future of college football.
"I'm new to (CFP) meetings," Petitti told Dellenger. "How these things develop, there have been some surprises. The focus on what this is going to look like beyond 2026 is highly important and deserves a lot of time and discussion."
