The history of college football has been a consistent fight over how the hell to crown a national champion. Through eras of different polls with mythical winners and myriad splits, to the bowl coalition to the BCS and now the College Football Playoff, the constant tinkering is reminiscent of an entity that can never quite make up its mind.
Now more than ever, college football is an entity caught between legitimate sporting competition and corporate largesse. At least the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame have agreed formally to a new contract with ESPN beginning in 2026 to continue the CFP as the way the sport determines a champion for six years.
A new format was not decided Friday, but more a further codification of the new world order in college football. The Big Ten and SEC are more lucrative than the ACC and Big 12 which are more lucrative than the Group of 5. Estimates hint that the Power 2 will earn around 29% each of future Playoff revenue, with the ACC earning around 17%, the Big 12 around 15% with the remainder going to Notre Dame and the G5.
