Along with the realignment of power five conferences, the biggest storyline of this college football offseason was the switch to the new 12-team college football playoff format, which will begin being implemented to decide the champion of this upcoming season, slated to begin in just under two weeks. The playoff has long been criticized as an imperfect system, especially after Florida State missed out on it after finishing undefeated this past year, but now, the hope is that there will be no disputing the final college football champion if 12 teams are allowed into the mix.
Another revelation from this updated system is the automatic inclusion of a Group of Five team in the proceedings. The group of five of course refers to the Mountain West, American, Conference USA, Sun Belt and Mid-American conferences, which have long struggled to maintain national relevancy when compared against the backdrop of the Power Five conferences.
However, in addition to having a guaranteed bid into the big dance, the group of five commissioners are also interested in exploring other avenues of generating postseason interest in their on field product, including the possibility of other tournaments at season’s end.
“We are open to all of that. That would be really interesting and have some value,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said, per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. “What if it’s like an NIT of football?”
The group of five commissioners are slated to meet next week and one of the main issues they will be discussing is “the possibility of a reshaped postseason incorporating the bowl system, an arrangement that may generate additional television dollars and provide a secondary championship for those G5 teams not competing in the CFP,” per Dellenger.
Former American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco is especially anxious to see the conferences get something done because he knows that the playoff format currently in place is by no means a guarantee to remain that way for the long term future.
“They could change the format. They’ve left it open,” Aresco said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s all up in the air [after the 2025 playoff].”
The last time a Group of Five team made the playoff was the Cincinnati Bearcats in the 2021-22 season, finishing undefeated and then getting smacked by Alabama in the playoff.
It remains to be seen how the group’s automatic bid will fair in the upcoming 2024-25 College Football Playoff season.
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