Greg Sankey, the Southeastern Conference Commissioner, told The Associated Press that it became more complicated.
After the postseason administrators failed to reach an agreement on a plan for expansion, the CFP will continue to be a four-team format until the 2025 season.
The excitement that began with the unveiling of a 12-team playoff plan last summer has come crashing down. The college sports leaders who were charged with figuring out the details are stuck in a rut.
Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill stated to The Associated Press that it seemed like everyone is committed to expanding the CFP. However, it’s difficult to believe that since we can’t expand CFP.
The management committee, which includes 10 conference commissioners as well as Notre Dame’s athletic director met via video conference earlier in the week.
Mike Aresco, American Athletic Conference Commissioner, stated that “time was running out.” “The disappointment stems also from the fact I believe we will eventually get there, and that 12-team is still the most probable scenario.”
Aresco published a letterMonday outlining the obstacles to expansion. He stated that the purpose of the meeting was to see if any position has changed.
The answer was no.
Aresco stated, “So at this point, I guess that the implications were obvious.”
The Board of Managers, consisting of the presidents of the universities, accepted Thursday’s recommendation that they abandon the idea of early implementation. They directed them to continue to work on a new format in 2026.
Aresco stated, “After 2025 there’s no playoff.”
The 2018 season was the first to see this process. The presidents contacted the management committee to develop a plan for the next evolution in the CFP. It was hoped that it could be implemented earlier than waiting for the 12-year ESPN media rights agreement to expire.
After two years of hard work, Sankey was part the four-member subcommittee that created the 12-team proposal. The plan required that the field be made up of six conference champions in FBS and six teams at-large determined by rankings from selection committees. The top four seeds would be allowed byes. Four games in the first round would be played at the homes of higher-ranked teams. Bowl games would host the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Sankey stated that the group looked through over 60 models for playoffs.
Sankey stated that “we’ve already identified solutions to some of these concerns.” “What I find most unfortunate is that people don’t want to take action on these as they are protecting their own interests.”
It was not surprising that early expansion was canceled. In early January , the commissioners were frustrated and unable produce the unanimous consensus required to move forward.
Just days after the meeting in Indianapolis, Jim Phillips, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner, took the strongest public position yet against early expansion. He stated that a new CFP format should be not be a priority given the uncertainty surrounding college sports.
Friday’s announcement by the commissioners was made official. They announced that they have given up trying to implement ESPN expansion in the last two years. This failure will result in $450 million less revenue for the conferences.
Eight months ago, the road to expansion seemed to be much easier when the CFP revealed the 12-team plan.
A month later, the SEC revealed that it was in discussions with Texas and Oklahoma to join the league’s powerhouse league. This has been responsible for the creation of 12 of the 17 national champions.
After learning about the expansion plan of the SEC, the relatively new commissioners from the Big Ten, Pac-12, and ACC became more skeptical of a process that began before they were involved in the CFP.
Despite more than half a dozen meetings in person with the commissioners, progress has stagnated.
Kevin Warren, Big Ten Commissioner, has stated that he supports automatic bids for champions of Power Five leagues instead of six best champs from each conference. The non-Power Five conference commissioners, the so-called Group of Five, which includes the AAC, Sun Belt and Sun Belt, oppose this.
Phillips pushed for an even smaller expansion of eight or fewer.
George Kliavkoff, Pac-12 Commissioner, stated that his conference has not placed any team in the eight playoffs but supports all formats of 8- or 12-team teams. He was asking that the Rose Bowl retain its New Year’s Day slot in a new CFP, and most of the other CFPs aren’t on board.
Kliavkoff posted on Twitter that “I share the disappointment felt today by many college football fans.” “I look forward working with other Commissioners in order to create a football playoff format more inclusive and balanced.”
Most of the group supports the original 12-team proposal by Sankey, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson, as well as Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick.
Gill stated that “these issues aren’t going away.” “We have to get going and in the next 12-18 month, we will have solutions. “I don’t know what will change between now and then.”
Sankey believes that the SEC has already conceded by agreeing to expand. The four-team playoff has never excluded the SEC. It was the second time that two SEC teams had competed for the CFP title, with Georgia beating Alabama last month.
Sankey acknowledged that a larger field could increase interest in college football nationally.
He said that there’s no guarantee that the SEC will support expansion beyond four.
“From our point of view, we have given. Sankey stated that we will have to rethink our position in light of how others have approached the conversation. “And that is not something I expect to make any easier.
