IRVING, Texas — The leaders of the College Football Playoff made little progress Wednesday regarding broad changes to the structure of the eventual 12-team playoff, as uncertainty continues regarding the futures of Cal, Stanford, Washington State, Oregon State and SMU. All 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick attended the meeting, though ACC commissioner Jim Phillips teleconferenced in via Zoom after he was a late scratch on attending in-person.
The meetings were described as cordial by multiple parties, and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark even sat next to each other at one point. Kliavkoff participated in the meetings offering his usual contributions, according to CFP executive director Bill Hancock, but the Pac-12 head man quickly exited to catch a flight, only offering a comment to reporters about his hope that a team in his league wins a CFP title this year. The elephant in the room, whether those inside it want to acknowledge it or not, was how the possible dissolution of the Pac-12 would affect the playoff’s format—and whether another lengthy debate is in store after the 12-team format was believed to be settled.
“We're gonna have to wait ‘til the dust settles before making any decisions about how that might affect CFP,” executive director Bill Hancock said. “The fact is we just don't know yet. No one knows how conference realignment is going to wind up. It would just be premature to make any of these decisions about it.”
