Discussion on changes to College Football Playoff model delayed until realignment, ACC expansion is complete

IRVING, Texas — Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff made his first public look Wednesday for the reason that convention suffered mass defections in the newest wave of convention realignment. Kliavkoff, along commissioners from the opposite 9 Football Bowl Subdivision meetings, was once on the town for a gathering of the College Football Playoff Management Committee. Instead of taking questions, alternatively, Kliavkoff rushed to the escalator at DFW Airport, pronouncing best that he was once targeted on bringing a countrywide championship to the Pac-12 this yr.  

Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State are all that continues to be of the Pac-12 as the ones faculties search for new convention properties. The present Pac-12 TV deal expires June 30, 2024. The ACC has explored the potential for including the Bay Area faculties, whilst Oregon State and Washington State are bearing in mind their choices, possibly within the Mountain West or American Athletic Conference.  

With such a lot up within the air, the control committee opted to wait ahead of severely discussing choice fashions for the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. 

“We’re going to have to wait and see and wait for the dust to settle before making any decisions about how that might affect the CFP,” govt director Bill Hancock mentioned. “That fact is we don’t know yet, no one knows how conference realignment is going to wind up. It would be premature to make any of these decisions.” 

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips seemed by the use of Zoom due to climate delays in trip and didn’t supply any realignment updates to the committee. The ACC prior to now scheduled a gathering to speak about including Stanford, Cal and most likely SMU. However, that assembly was once indefinitely postponed after a college taking pictures on the University of North Carolina on Monday. 

“It’ll get resolved pretty quickly,” mentioned AAC commissioner Mike Aresco, who has remained in consistent touch with SMU. “I don’t think it can go on too much longer. None of this is really healthy when it drags on too much longer.” 

Much of this is contingent on what occurs subsequent. If the Pac-12 utterly collapses, it might go away the FBS with 9 meetings. If the Pac-12 in the end rebuilds with its 4 final groups, the league would have the precise to block any structure trade for the following two years 

Different fashions were publicly rumored. The model these days authorized by way of the CFP Board of Managers — made up of college presidents and chancellors — options the highest six convention champions and best six at-large squads assembly in a 12-team box. Hancock showed that the committee additionally mentioned a model with 5 auto-bids and 7 at-large groups. 

MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher remained company on his want to stay auto bids for convention champions, one thing for which he believes there is nonetheless beef up. Any trade to the present CFP construction calls for a unanimous vote of the Board of Managers. 

“The principle of honoring conference champions is important,” Steinbrecher mentioned. “I think it’s a bedrock principle of what we’re doing here. I think that’s important that it’s continued when we head forward. Depending on the number of conferences we have, I think you can have a conversation about the number of champions we send here. I felt good about that conversation.” 

While maximum of the focal point has been on the structure trade, the main objective of the Wednesday assembly was once logistics. The committee handed a stipend in order that participant households can trip to all rounds of the playoff. Additionally, the commissioners met in an govt consultation to speak about subsequent steps to exchange Hancock, who is retiring subsequent yr. Plans for additional nationwide championship sport websites had been additionally mentioned. 

“I think you’ve got to consider that circumstances have changed,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey mentioned. “And that’s one person’s perspective, but we have to see what circumstances are. That seems like a reasonable precursor. Right now, we have a format. Let’s keep working on the format.”