The NCAA announced that they are considering expanding the College Football Playoff to 12 teams. The CFP management committee will meet in Chicago next week and discuss it. The proposal calls for the bracket to consist of the six highest-ranked conference champions and the six highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP selection committee.
The proposal was written by a subcommittee made up of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, and it’s only the first step in a long process. The 10 FBS commissioners and Swarbrick must agree on a format when they meet on June 17 and 18 to discuss the topic in person for the first time since COVID-19 hit. The 4 members of the working group have spent the last two years researching the possibilities to ultimately conclude that a 12-team format provides the best opportunity, it’s possible the 7 other members of the management committee support a different or the original format. The 4 members of the working group issued a joint statement on Thursday after presenting the plan during a virtual meeting for the full management committee.
“The four-team format has been very popular and is a big success. But it’s important that we consider the opportunity for more teams and more student-athletes to participate in the playoff,” the working group said. “After reviewing numerous options, we believe this proposal is the best option to increase participation, enhance the regular season and grow the national excitement of college football.”
Under the proposal for a 12-team format, the four highest-ranked conference champs would be seeded 1-4 and get a first-round bye. Teams 5-12 would play each other in round 1 on the higher-ranked team’s home stadium. The quarterfinals and semifinals would be played in bowl games, and the national championship would remain at a neutral site. The first-round games would take place on campus sometime during the two-week period following conference title games. The quarterfinals would be played on January 1–or January 2 when New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday–and on an adjacent day.
My opinion: I like this format better. It gives teams who had outstanding seasons but out of the top 4 a chance. Like in 2018, UCF went undefeated but missed the CFP.
