The Big Ten's latest push looks to get rid of league championship games and expand to an astounding 24 teams in the College Football Playoff.
The Big Ten is the latest conference to want major changes to an everchanging College Football Playoff format that is entering its third year of inception since expanding to a 12-team field. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the league is circulating an internal document for a massive 24-team field, which would be a 23+1 selection model with an additional weekend of on-campus home games – but would also eliminate conference championship games. The format will remain at 12 for the 2026 season, but it’s impossible to get through a season of college football without the talking heads calling for massive change in the middle of the year.
ESPN managed to obtain the document in question, and it also reportedly includes some intriguing tweaks like avoiding having any rematches in the first round of the CFP. That was certainly under the spotlight last year, as the CFP featured multiple rematches last season. The first round had two: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Oklahoma Sooners and Tulane Green Wave vs. Ole Miss Rebels. The quarterfinals featured a rematch of the Rebels vs. the Georgia Bulldogs, and the semifinals had a Big Ten rematch of the national champions Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks. Understandably, the saturation of rematches called some attention to the matter that the Big Ten is now prioritizing.
But the 24-team format is a major expansion, one that goes past the SEC’s willingness to expand to 16 teams. The Big Ten was only willing to expand to 16 if the 24-team agreement was contingent in the future. With those two conferences essentially dictating the CFP format and decision-making process, that major gap won’t make talks progress much.
The document offers a timeline of a 16-team format for 2027 and 2028, and an expansion to 24 “no later than the 2029 season.” That would then run through the end of the CFP contract through 2031, after which would bring a new television contract and more potential change.
The 16-team proposal would have five automatic qualifiers and 11 at large teams, with byes for the top two seeds. The 24-team format would have 23 of the best teams – no automatic qualifiers – and one spot for the Group of Five. The top eight teams would have byes, with eight first-round games on campus – meaning all top teams would be rewarded with a home game.
That’s certainly something to consider. Indiana didn’t get a home game last season. But when would this feasible start? How could this be feasible with the current calendar? It obviously would have to be the end of conference championship games. But is that best for the future of the sport?