RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — Tony Petitti left no doubt or wiggle room: The Big Ten wants a 24-team playoff or bust.
During an hour-long news conference with reporters on Tuesday, as Big Ten administrative spring meetings wound down here on the Pacific cliffs, the league’s commissioner sent a clear message about the future of college football’s postseason.
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“There is a deep commitment to 24,” he said.
And if the SEC doesn’t agree immediately this year, that’s OK too. The playoff would then remain at 12.
“If we have to wait, it’s OK. We’ll wait,” he said.
The SEC and Big Ten, for a year now, have been locked in a disagreement over the future playoff format. This year, the postseason will remain at 12 teams, but executives must decide before a Dec. 1 ESPN deadline for 2027.
According to a memorandum of understanding that the conferences and Notre Dame signed in March 2024, the Big Ten and SEC must agree on a format for it to be adopted. SEC administrators gather next week near Destin, Florida, for their version of their annual spring meetings. But the conference’s position on a playoff may not be clear until June, when the CFP’s governance committee next meets in person. Playoff media consultants are expected to present a valuation of a 24-team field then.
Commissioner Tony Petitti and the Big Ten have consistently pushed for a move to a 24-team College Football Playoff.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)
Will the 12 additional games — two belonging to ESPN as part of its current deal — be worth enough to recoup the $200-250 million of the value of the conference championship games? The title games would be eliminated in a 24-team field.
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And just because ESPN outbid all other networks by a wide margin during the process in 2023, that doesn’t mean other suitors won’t contend in another bidding war.
“This is great content,” Petitti said.
The commissioner spent more than half of the 60-minute interview with about a dozen reporters here discussing the playoff format, why he’s so entrenched in his 24-team position and what the future holds. He has convinced most of the heavy hitters in the CFP governance room to align behind his model, including ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bavacqua — an about-face for the three men from their position in January.
Petitti doesn’t believe that a 16-team playoff — the SEC’s supported position — creates enough access at a time in which teams are investing millions into their rosters. But perhaps more notable is a 16-team field, he says, would not work economically. The leagues couldn’t make up for the elimination of conference championship games by expanding by four teams. Petitti does not envision playing a 16-team playoff with league title games, which many coaches have publicly supported eliminating.
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Will commissioner Greg Sankey and his presidents come along? Some SEC athletic directors and head football coaches have either supported an expansion to 24 or expressed significant interest in it.
The league’s athletic directors gathered just two weeks ago in Birmingham as a prelude to next week’s spring meetings. While the future of the College Sports Commission and the league’s existence within the NCAA stole the most time, the playoff was discussed, those with knowledge of the meeting told Yahoo Sports.
One described the room as being split.
“More of us may want 16 than 24,” one school official said, “but we want 24 more than staying at 12.”
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The additional access is the biggest reason for Petitti’s push to 24, but it’s not the only one. In the model most discussed, the all at-large field would be determined based on the CFP’s Top 25 rankings, with the highest-ranked Group of Six program assured of at least one spot. The top eight seeds would earn a bye into the second round, with seed Nos. 9-24 on the campus of the better seed. The format generates 12 additional home playoff games — and a lot more participants too.
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If using a 24-team playoff model, Big Ten chief operating officer Kerry Kenny says 80 different teams would have made the playoffs dating back to 2014, according to data the league crunched.
“More teams alive as late as possible is a fundamental way to change the playoff,” Petitti said.
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And what about those who believe the format devalues the regular season? Petitti said he’s in a “different place” than those people.
And, hey, if the Big Ten has to wait, it’ll wait. The conference, for the first time in 73 years, won a third consecutive football championship in January.
They’re OK.
Quipped a smiling Petitti, “We are doing really well as a league.”
