Big Ten Reportedly 'Will Not Back Off' 4 Automatic Bids for CFP Bracket Format

The Big Ten will reportedly continue backing a College Football Playoff bracket with four automatic qualifiers unless the conference receives schedule concessions from the SEC, On3's Brett McMurphy reported on Wednesday.

McMurphy reported that the Big Ten, led by commissioner Tony Petitti, "will not back off" the four automatic bids format without the SEC adding a ninth conference game to its schedule.

Because the SEC is "unlikely" to make that concession, the CFP will "likely" retain its 12-team playoff format in 2026, according to McMurphy.

The Big Ten and Big 12 currently each play nine conference games per season, while the SEC and ACC play eight competitions against conference opponents.

One of the formats discussed by the conferences has been a "4-4-2-2-1” model, according to previous reports from Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

This format would grant the SEC and Big Ten four automatic qualifiers each and the Big 12 and ACC two apiece while leaving one bid for the Group of Six in addition to other at-large selections expanding the field to 14 or 16 teams.

The conferences have also debated a "5+11" format, which would offer automatic bids to five conference champions with the highest CFP rankings in addition to 11 at-large bids, per Dellenger.

According to McMurphy, a source told him there is "no chance" the Big Ten would join in on a 5+11 format if the SEC gains a perceived advantage to grab more at-large bids by playing more non-conference games.

Dellenger previously reported in May that "many" Big Ten athletic directors said they wouldn't support a 5+11 model if the SEC stuck with eight in-conference games.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has repeatedly said he believes the difficulty of his conference's schedule makes up for playing one less game against an SEC opponent.

Sankey most recently told reporters during SEC media days this week (h/t USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer) that he doesn't believe "there's anyone looking to swap their conference schedule and its opponents with the opponents played by SEC conference teams in our conference schedule."

He mentioned, however, that the SEC would "going to continue to evaluate whether increasing the number of conference football games is appropriate for us."

Sankey indicated that the SEC's schedule decision would ultimately hinge on what role the conference plays in the future of the CFP selection committee.

“As I've said repeatedly, understanding how the CFP will evaluate strength of schedule and even strength of record is critically important in our decision-making," Sankey said.

The CFP is set to use a straight seeding model this fall, which will give first-round byes to the top four ranked teams in addition to eight at-large bids. The conferences face a Dec. 1 deadline to make changes to the bracket ahead of the 2026 playoff.