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What is the holdup for the expansion of the CFP?
The College Football Playoff expansion and what is holding back a final decision was the topic of Wednesday's in-person meeting. There is a minute
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The process of expanding the College Football Playoff has been going on for several months, and the commissioner of the Pac-12 expressed his frustration.
"I think one of the mistakes that was made in the expansion discussions was in June," he said. We made a proposal before everyone agreed to anything. I don't think that bartering through the media about who's voting yes or no for which expansion model is a good idea.
I think it's a good idea to get the right people in the room, settle on a model, and then announce it as opposed to announce it, and try and get people to agree to it.
The proposal was written by a subcommittee that included Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson.
Sankey said no when asked if he regretted publicly announcing a 12-team format, because the news would have leaked anyway.
He said that if they had done behind the scenes work, it would have leaked. We can't keep the meeting location secret. Let's be transparent about it. The idea that we were going to come up with a format model and start making phone calls and asking for input would be problematic in my view and my colleagues' view. The product of that task is here. We have work to do.
Sankey said there was wisdom in that. We went through a lot of mental gymnastics as a subgroup with staff and advisors trying to think through that. I don't think that's an issue. I don't think it's a problem. I don't think that was a bad decision. The news cycle is just that.
The board of managers of the CFP was unable to agree on an expanded format and tabled discussions until January, when they will meet in Indianapolis to decide on the national championship game.
The stance of the Pac-12 has not changed in the past few months. Automatic qualification for the Power 5 conference champion is something it wants.
"We are very supportive of multiple proposals and we did not indicate that we would vote against any of the proposals that are currently being discussed, both eight and 12," he said.
It would take a unanimous vote to change the current four-team model because the 11 entities involved in the process have a contractual agreement.
The board of managers meeting in Dallas this past week was one of the great things that they started doing, focusing on what they want the playoffs to look like beyond the current term. I don't think it's necessary for 11 people to agree to a solution that would benefit college football. We can focus on whether or not we can also get to that solution for 24 and 25 if we find that solution.
I think you start by asking what the group that needs to agree on a model is. We can invite the rest to join us. It's just a different way of thinking about who gets to make a decision about what their model looks like.
When a future playoff model is settled, the Pac-12 will reexamine how it structures its regular season and how to determine who plays in the conference title game. The conference's philosophy is to maximize the amount of teams it can get into the playoffs.
Heather Dinich is a reporter for ESPN.
