Power Conference commissioners met once again Saturday to discuss the future of the College Football Playoff, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. A “compromise” for the Big 12 and ACC regarding a 16-team model was part of the discussion.
Saturday’s meeting is the second time the commissioners gathered to talk about potential CFP expansion in the last 10 days. ESPN’s Pete Thamel noted Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti appeared virtually since he’s in California for the conference’s upcoming spring meetings.
The proposed 16-team bracket would include four automatic bids for each of the SEC and Big Ten, according to Dellenger. The ACC and Big 12 would get two spots each, while the Group of 6 would get one. There would also be three at-large spots.
In addition, as Dellenger previously reported, “inner-league play-in games” could also be in the cards at the end of the year. That would put the third-place team in a conference against the sixth-place team, as well as the fourth-place team against fifth-place.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel also reported the focus is on a 16-team College Football Playoff, which would begin in 2026. That’s when the current agreement with ESPN ends, although an extension will also kick in at the end of the deal.
“I would say that 16 is becoming more preferred,” a source told Thamel. “It seems like 16 may be the preferred number, but there’s no format decision.”
While no decisions have been made, Mississippi State athletics director Zac Selmon strongly supported the idea of play-in games for the CFP. He pointed out the addition of more meaningful games to the schedule as a reason he’d be in favor of the move.
“There’s been a lot of just intriguing conversations,” Selmon told Peter Burns. “We just had some meetings in Birmingham this week. It’s always great to be with our colleagues. Commissioner [Greg] Sankey’s just a visionary in the industry. I think exciting competition is exciting competition, and I’ve always been a fan for access, but also for the fan bases, more play-ins. You look at what the NBA has done and other leagues – having hope, having excitement late in the season – I love the concepts of just having more opportunities and also having some more things on the line. The level of competition in our league, and you think about the physical toll that games take on somebody’s body.
“Now, the mental toll that this league puts on your body … I think it helps for the student-athlete mindset, too, of having more things to play for late in the season. Coaches are great at motivating and keeping guys connected, but I think having more things like this is a really good concept for the student-athletes. Having more access, more meaningful games, more games with a lot of things on the line, I think it’s a great thing for college football.”
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