Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti pitched new models this week for the College Football Playoff that could expand the field to as many as 28 teams, sources familiar with the discussions tell CBS Sports. The ideas were pitched internally among Big Ten athletic directors earlier this week and have yet to be socialized with the other FBS conferences.
The Big Ten has long supported a 16-team format with four automatic qualifiers for itself and the SEC, with two AQs for the Big 12 and ACC. The 16-team format is still under consideration by the Big Ten, a source said, but Petitti made it his purpose to explore further options after negotiations with the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame hit a roadblock in June.
One model discussed among Big Ten leadership includes seven automatic qualifiers for the Big Ten and SEC, with five apiece for the ACC and Big 12. The Group of 6 would receive two berths and two more teams would get at-large spots.
Petitti supports one of the three models — 16, 24 and 28 — but it’s not yet known which one he may push, a source told CBS Sports.
The CFP’s executives have until Dec. 1 to finalize a format before a contract with ESPN, spanning from 2026 through 2023, is executed. Commissioners in several conferences have said they would be OK if the field remains at 12, as it will in 2025. The ACC and Big 12 support a 16-team format with five berths for the highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large berths. The SEC leaned more in favor with the ACC and Big 12’s model in recent months but has yet to officially support it.
ESPN first reported Saturday that the Big Ten internally discussed 24- and 28-team playoff models.
The Big Ten’s ideas for a playoff with 24 or more teams would eliminate conference championship games, allowing for the playoff to begin on the first weekend of December, sources told CBS Sports. The first two rounds of the playoff would be played on campuses.
The 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletics director Pete Bevecqua are not scheduled to meet in person until Sept. 24, when they will converge on the Big Ten headquarters outside Chicago for their first in-person meeting since June. Petitti told CBS Sports in July that he was open to hearing new ideas for the CFP.
“It’s not just lip service,” Petitti said. “If people have ideas and formats they want to consider, they’ll find us ready to do the work quickly to get answers back. It doesn’t mean it’ll be an easy hurdle, but we’ll do the work quickly. When ideas come, there’s no pride of authorship here. If there’s something better that solves it, we’ll embrace it.”
