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There's a lot of talk in college football about proposing additional changes to the College Football Playoff. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti added more fuel to all that fire on Tuesday, when he made a bold statement at Big Ten Media Day.
“To be clear, any college football playoff format that increases the discretion and role of the CFP selection committee will have a difficult time getting support from the Big Ten,” Petitti said, per On3.
Some people want to expand the CFP to as many as 16 teams, or even more than that. These comments seem to throw some cold water on that idea.
In May, the CFP Management Committee approved changes to the playoff for the 2025-26 season. That is this upcoming season. While the playoff will continue to have 12 teams, now the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a place in the Playoff. There will no longer include a bye for the four highest-ranked champions, but for the four highest-ranked teams overall.
“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” said Rich Clark, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the Playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”
College Football Playoff quarterfinal games this upcoming football season start on New Year's Eve. The 2025 college football season kicks off at the end of August.
Tony Petitti would like additional changes to the football season
While the CFP is still a 12-team format, there is constant chatter about allowing more teams in in future years. Petitti didn't specifically comment on what kinds of expansion proposals he would support. He did however reiterate that the Big Ten is holding a lot of cards when it comes to the approval process.
“Tony Petitti, like Greg Sankey last week, emphasized that the Big Ten and SEC have the authority to make the CFP format decision,” NBC Sports reporter Nicole Auerbach said on X, formerly Twitter, while reporting at Big Ten Media Day.
While Petitti isn't getting specific about team expansion in the CFP, he is getting specific about other changes he wants to see in college football.
“We want to better connect the regular season (and) postseason. We want more conference games to matter in November,” Petitti said, per On3.
Ohio State football won the CFP in 2024, the first season of the expanded 12 team playoff.
