College Football Playoff expansion and seeding reform discussions are on the table as the sport nears the dog days of its offseason, and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin joined the chorus of influential figures to call for change to the postseason format. Whether it be through a change to the playoff itself or to the way the SEC operates its championship, Stricklin said something needs to be done to ensure the conference receives more seats at the national title contention table.
The SEC narrowly lagged behind the Big Ten last season with its three playoff bids, and in an effort to send more teams to the tournament, Stricklin embraced the idea of a potential play-in system at the end of the conference season.
“I don’t want to get out in front of Commissioner Sankey, but I’m in favor of anything that provides as many legitimate postseason opportunities for our teams in our league as possible,” Stricklin said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “And I say that saying bowl games have served college football for a long time, but in this day and age, playoff spots is what matters.”
Proposed playoff expansion models include, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, a new format which guarantees each power conference a specific number of bids. If the SEC were to receive four automatic bids, it could remove its traditional championship game and instead create a play-in scenario for its top contending teams.
“We got three of our 16 teams in our league make a playoff spot last year,” said Stricklin. “I think the Big Ten had four, if I’m not mistaken. So four of their 18. That’s 25% or less of those conferences. The highest-profile conferences getting 25% or less of their members in a playoff opportunity. There is no other sport the SEC sponsors where it’s less than half.”
When the College Football Playoff’s new television deal takes effect in 2026, the SEC and Big Ten gain sole voting power over the future of the playoff format, per a memorandum signed by each of the FBS conferences. Sweeping changes to the postseason structure, with guarantees awarded to the two most powerful leagues, could come as a result.
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“14 of 16 men’s basketball,” Stricklin said of the SEC’s 2025 postseason bids. “I can’t remember the women’s basketball number, but it was over half. Baseball, we get 10, 11, 12 teams in the postseason. Softball. You go down the list, over half of our teams make a legitimate postseason to go win a championship, except for the most high-profile sport. And we’re okay with three of our 16 getting in?
“The system is not — we’ve gotta figure that out. If play-in opportunities allows six, seven, eight SEC teams to have a chance to play into a national championship, that seems really effective to me.”
