4:39 PM
Kevin Warren, the Big Ten's commissioner, told ESPN that he still believes that the Power 5 conference winners should be included in the College Football Playoff in the future.
Since the proposed 12-team format was announced in June, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has had a number of in-person meetings with the 10 FBS Commissioners. Automatic bids are one of the sticking points in the room.
Warren said it was important that the five conferences had automatic qualification. If you are crowned the Big 10 champion, you should have an opportunity to participate in a national championship because of the demands of the schedule. As I stand here today, I feel strongly about that.
The original proposal suggested a model that included the six highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next six highest-ranked teams. The format was developed by a working group made up of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, and Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson.
Thompson said there was no difference between what was originally proposed and the so-called "five-plus-one" model that would guarantee the Power 5 conference champ and one Group of 5 champion a spot in the playoff.
Some Group of 5 Commissioners have expressed public support for the original model because it is a step in eliminating the label they all detest, while also preventing the possibility of rewarding a lower ranked Power 5 champion with a playoff spot. Utah and Pitt were the only two teams from the conference to make the final ranking.
"I fought for two years in that room to get to the six and six, and so I'm not willing to just walk away and give up," Thompson said. Why do certain other conference champions not deserve guaranteed access if they haven't accomplished it in six, seven years? Just because they won the league?
The earliest the CFP could expand would be the 2024 season, but in order for it to change before the contract expires, all of the conferences would have to agree to it.
Mike Aresco said that there are some differences that have to be bridged. We have made it clear that we think that a playoff that just gives favored positions to someone based on their brand is not credible and would not be a legitimate playoffs. Let me know if you can name one that does that.
