ORLANDO, Fla. — New ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t against expanding the College Football Playoff but also in no hurry to join the growing number of people who are beating the drum for change.
It’s been three weeks since Phillips and the rest of the members of the Playoff management committee were briefed on several possible future formats for the playoff by a working group. The news of expansion caused a public uproar, leaving some to speculate about the future of the postseason model.
“I’m not against it but I want to have a conversation and I want to do it really thoughtfully,” said Phillips, who is more than 100 days into his role as commissioner. “I don’t want to rush in and expand. I want to know it more and I think others deserve to know it more before we make a sizable decision like that.
“What does it look like? How many more games is it? Is it one more game for two teams, what does that do from a student-athlete perspective? How does it affect our calendar academically? Are we playing too many games? … I think you have to evaluate the consequences good or bad.”
The ACC has had at least one team in each of the seven seasons since the playoff’s inception in 2014.
“We’re comfortable and we know where things are but it’s just as important to understand that you have to look at other options. You just do. It’s just part of what is necessary,” added Phillips.
But a few hours earlier new Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff was eager to see the playoff broaden past its current four-team model.
“I want to make sure our position that the CFP should be expanded was clear even before my first day on the job,” Kliavkoff said during his introductory remarks Thursday. While he didn’t have a preference for a format he wanted to get the message out before he begins on July 1.
The Pac-12 hasn’t had a team qualify for the playoffs since 2016 with the league managing just two teams over the past seven seasons.
The working group’s proposal reviewed 63 possibilities for change including anywhere from 6-to-16 team options, each with a variety of different scenarios.
Playoff executive director Bill Hancock warned against reading too much into the group’s findings.
“For the last couple of years, when I’ve been asked about it, I’m very careful to say that my bosses are talking about the future,” Hancock told the Orlando Sentinel last week. “This really was an extension of that except for the first time we were able to give some color into what they were talking about.
“It’s just analyzing and thinking about the future. That’s all it is.”
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reiterated his conference’s stance on expansion.
“I’ve been pretty consistent in saying a four-team playoff has worked, is working and can continue to work,” Sankey told Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network last week.
This is the eighth year of a 12-year contract for the Playoff, which runs through 2025-26. There doesn’t appear to be any significant changes to the format this or next season, but that’s not to say there couldn’t be movement at some point.
Perhaps the biggest push for expansion lies in better access.
Eleven teams have qualified for the 28 available semifinal spots with Alabama (6), Clemson (6), Ohio State (4), Oklahoma (4) and Notre Dame (2) making multiple appearances. It’s the concern over a lack of variety among the playoff participants that’s caused the biggest pushback, particularly among fans.
The absence of access for nonautonomous conferences like the American Athletic Conference has also been a point of contention. The league seeing two of its best teams — Cincinnati in 2020 and UCF in 2017-18 — left out of playoff consideration despite undefeated regular-season records.
Most talk of expansion centers on providing better access with some in favor of an automatic bid for conference champions.
“ … If we did expand it, you would want access,” Phillips said. “Each of the Power 5 conferences would want access not different from the other Group of Five’s would want access so we would have to work through that. But as I sit here today, I would tell you I would be in favor of having access for the ACC if the CFP expanded.”
Kliavkoff deferred when asked his thoughts saying, “I have not done the work to be able to answer that question.”
Another point to consider is money with ESPN paying the conferences $7.3 billion over the 12 years for broadcasting rights for the semifinal games and New Year’s Six access bowl games. Any changes to the format would have to be dependent on reworking the television contract to pay the conferences more revenue.
Meanwhile, there is no timetable being discussed for expansion but the Playoff management group meets again in June. Any proposal for change would still need to be voted on by the Playoff board of managers which consists of 11 university presidents and chancellors.
“I think we’ll get to the right place but to me, that’s not going to happen over the next few months or the next six months,” Phillips added. “It’s just going to take some time and we need to do a thorough assessment before we make any major decisions.”
