February 3, 2022
CFB InsiderBig Things Coming in College Football this Offseason?
Is 12 the magic number? Leading minds in the college football space can’t seem to decide. But big things are happening in collegiate sports right now.
Coming off the NCAA Convention in January, the move to decentralize the management of Divisions, schools and athletes might get the wheels turning on an expanded playoff. Keep reading to see a breakdown of where things are headed and how we might just see the future of college football come to fruition this off season.
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The expanded playoff is a topic that isn’t new in the college football world. And most can agree that an expanded playoff has the potential to positively affect football schools around the country—so why aren’t we there yet?
Power Struggle
When it comes to the extended playoff discussion, there are two major factors: how do we get more teams involved, and how do we make more money. By far the loudest voices are coming from Power Five conferences, who for the most part stand to reap most of the benefits from an expanded format.
The ACC signed their fledgling commissioner in February 2021 and are concerned with the timing of a playoff that extends a full 12 games. Their proposal says let’s expand to eight, it makes things easier. One could also make the argument that they don’t have the consistent talent to extend more than one team to a field of 12 so eight looks like a better fit for Clemson to climb to the top.
Still fresh in the college football landscape, the Big Ten commissioner is hung up on requiring the top teams from all Power Five conferences receiving an automatic bid regardless of ranking. The automatic qualifier precludes a one or two-loss Big Ten Champion being left out the Big Ten from having a Big Ten champ that isn’t ranked in the top five like the 2017 and 2018 Ohio State and Wisconsin teams. Ope.
The Pac-12 and their shiny new commissioner signed this past July, seems to just be happy with whatever you want, so long as there is expansion. They just don’t want to be left out again. Kind of like going to dinner with someone who is indecisive but really doesn’t feel like a burger, or Chinese food, or tacos, or…
The Big 12 and the SEC are by far the most supportive of the 12-team format and pushing the decision to be made before the current format comes to an end in 2026. A 12-team playoff is most conducive to getting two to three teams in annually coming off the heels of their conference expansions. Both conferences also tout well-tenured commissioners who have both seen and led change. Don’t anticipate either backing down from advocating for what they see as the best path forward.
Fighting the Power
Beyond the disruptions in football the past few years, there is a lot happening in collegiate athletics right now. The NCAA Convention held this past January welcomed in a new, simplified NCAA Constitution. The goal of the new legislation is to decentralize the management of conferences, teams and ultimately players. As proven by NIL legislation and adjustments to Transfer Portal requirements, collegiate athletics is moving to give the power to the student athletes that it looks to serve.
This adjustment in power does a few things for our expanded playoff hopes.
First, it may slow things down a bit while the world of collegiate athletics attempts to find this new, decentralized identity. Commissioners and Athletic Directors have major hurdles to conquer this offseason including NIL guidelines, transfer portal aftermath and more.
With this shift in power, we may also see student athlete voices rising with opinions on how the expansion should work—not unlike the nation-wide leadership we saw during the beginning of COVID. Now that students stand to profit from their national exposure in an expanded playoff, we would expect those voices to be pushing for the extension.
The Power of Football
Regardless of where the playoff map goes this offseason, the power of college football still stands. Through COVID, transfer portal chaos, a crazy coaching carousel, NIL uncertainties and countless more drama, the magic of college football remains stronger than ever. We will still be on the edge of our seats until the first kickoff this September, we will still be screaming at the top of our lungs when things go right (or wrong) with our favorite team, and we will still keep making epic memories watching our favorite sport unfold each fall.