Big Ten, SEC set to unveil grand plans for College Football Playoff change … but is anyone else on board?

The only constant in college football is that everything is destined to change.

Decision-makers declared the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff a rousing success, but tweaks are coming, and two powerful voices are equipped to get what they want as soon as next fall. The question is whether the Big Ten and SEC will have the unanimous support required when the CFP’s 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame meet Tuesday at a hotel inside Dallas Fort Worth International Airport — or if they’ll make their intentions known and wait until 2026 when a new TV contract shifts voting power heavily in favor of the two most influential conferences in college sports.

Soon, after months of talking and at least two clandestine meetings, the Big Ten and SEC may exert their newfound power. Their commissioners are expected to ask cohorts Tuesday to change seeding in the 2025 College Football Playoff, eliminating first-round byes for the four highest-ranked conference champions and basing seeding solely on the selection committee’s rankings. Such a change would require unanimous approval among the 10 conferences and Notre Dame, according to contract language in the original media deal with ESPN that expires this fall. If that doesn’t happen, the Big Ten and SEC are prepared to wait until 2026 when a new six-year TV contract with ESPN provides them more decision-making power without the need for unanimity.

The seeding decision is only the tip of the iceberg the smaller conferences will soon try to navigate. The Big Ten and SEC are expected to present an idea to expand the CFP in 2026 to 14 teams and reward the two power conferences with multiple automatic qualifiers. Having been discussed behind closed doors among the Big Ten and SEC administrators, the…

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Author : Brandon Marcello

Publish date : 2025-02-24 21:40:00

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