A vote is possible [Friday] on an expansion model that could shape the next evolution of college football’s postseason, though details of the new format are likely to be left to commissioners to decide. Despite growing attraction to a 16-team field, the 12-team model remains the favorite as commissioners spent a year examining and vetting that proposal. They are believed to be close to agreeing to several unresolved concepts.
Just as important as the format is the vote. The CFP is in the final four years of a contract with ESPN that expires after the 2025 Playoff. In order to expand before the contract’s expiration, a unanimous vote is necessary. The management committee—the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick—could not come to a unanimous decision after an exhaustive 10-month stretch of negotiations that included public barbs, hurt feelings and, in the end, an 8–3 measure in March. The Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 voted against the proposal but have recently shown a renewed interest in supporting the expansion model.
Expanding before the contract ends would not only provide 16 additional Playoff spots over 2024 and ’25 but, as SI reported last fall, it would also generate an additional $450 million of gross revenue over those two years.
