Tag: format

Oct 2, 2024; Rosemont, IL, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks with the media during the 2024 Big Ten Womenís Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Melissa Tamez-Imagn Images

SEC, Big Ten commissioners promote change in CFP seeding format

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Commissioners of the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences hinted that they know how they’re going to vote if the issue arises of changing the seeding format for future College Football Playoff tournaments.

Greg Sankey of the SEC and the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti would no longer guarantee conference champions the top four berths in the bracket if they don’t end up within the top four of the final CFP standings.

Those coveted top-four seeds are assured a bye in the first round.

Any changes need the unanimous approval of all 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. The Fighting Irish are not affiliated with a conference in football.

The seedings proved controversial in the past season’s CFP bracket, the first one to feature 12 teams instead of four.

The Mountain West’s Boise State finished ninth in the final CFP standings but was awarded the third seed for winning the conference. Similarly, Arizona State finished 12th in the rankings but slid into the fourth seed because it won the Big 12.

The third- and fourth-ranked teams in the final standings, Texas (SEC) and Penn State (Big Ten), respectively, were pushed down to fifth and sixth in the bracket because they did not win their conferences.

Petitti wants the five highest-ranked conference champions to automatically earn spots in the CFP tournament, but not necessarily the top four seeds.

“We’re in favor of going to a straight seeding, where there’s no difference between rankings and seeding like we had this year. We’re in support of that for next year,” Petitti said.

Sankey also said he is “prepared to vote for a seeding change.”

The 10 commissioners and Bevacqua, who make up the CFP management committee, are to meet next week in Dallas to review last season’s tournament.

The Big Ten and SEC will carry extra clout going into the CFP format for the tournament capping the 2026-27 season. Changes at that point could include expanding to 14 teams.

“Oh, it’s gonna go to 14. I would bank on that,” ESPN reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed Big Ten source.

–Field Level Media

Jan 19, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; The College Football Playoff National Championship trophy at a press conference at The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Savannah Ballroom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

CFP format still could be subject to ‘tweaks’ in 2025

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Could more changes be on the way to the College Football Playoff, which hasn’t yet finished its first year with a 12-team field?

There were no major decisions made when the FBS conference commissioners and university presidents convened in Atlanta on Sunday, one day before the national championship game between No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 8 seed Ohio State.

But CFP executive director Rich Clark told reporters that “it’s possible” for tweaks to be made to the playoff format before next season, though such changes would need to happen “very soon.”

“I would say it’s possible, but I don’t know if it’s going to happen or not,” Clark said. “There’s probably some things that could happen in short order that might be tweaks to the 2025 season, but we haven’t determined that yet.”

Changes previously needed unanimous approval, but when a new contract kicks in in 2026, that will no longer be the case and the governance structure will favor the two top football leagues, the SEC and the Big Ten.

This year, the field expanded from four to 12, the five highest-ranked conference champions received automatic bids and the four highest-ranked champs were given seeds Nos. 1-4 and first-round byes. The latter piece drew criticism after No. 3 seed Boise State and No. 4 seed Arizona State, representing the Mountain West and Big 12, went one-and-done.

Potential changes in the future may include updating the seeding process or expanding the field yet again.

Clark told reporters that the decision-makers will consider “everything across the board” going forward.

“We’re going to tee them up so that they could really have a thorough look at the playoff looking back after this championship game is done … and then look back and figure out what is it that we need,” he said.

–Field Level Media

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) kisses the trophy after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Alabama Crimson Tide Versus Georgia Bulldogs On Monday Jan 10 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship At Lucas Oil Stadium In Indianapolis Syndication The Indianapolis Star

CFP maintaining four-team format for four more years

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The College Football Playoff will stick with its four-team format for at least the next four seasons.

Executive director Bill Hancock announced Friday that the national championship structure will not change until after the original 12-year plan expires with the 2025-26 season.

The CFP board of managers met via video conference Thursday to discuss a possible expansion to 12 teams. No changes were approved, but discussions are expected to continue regarding a new format that would go into effect in the 2026-27 season.

“Even though the outcome did not lead to a recommendation for an early expansion before the end of the current 12-year contract, the discussions have been helpful and informative,” Hancock said in a statement. “I am sure they will serve as a useful guide for the Board of Managers and for the Management Committee as we determine what the Playoff will look like beginning in the 2026-2027 season.

“I thank the working group for its hard work that resulted in the 12-team proposal, and the Management Committee for its thorough and diligent job reviewing it and other possible expansion ideas. This has been a long, careful, and detailed process that involved many people considering a complex matter. I am grateful to everyone for their dedication to college football and the detailed and deliberative effort everyone put into the consideration of a different format. I know the four-team event will continue to be successful.”

The current format matches the No. 1-ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games: Cotton, Fiesta, Peach, Orange, Sugar and Rose.

The upcoming season’s playoff semifinals will take place on Dec. 31 at the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl. The Los Angeles area will host the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LVI.

–Field Level Media