LAS VEGAS — Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s entrenched position regarding a controversial future College Football Playoff format has sparked a question: Why is he so committed to a largely unpopular position?
One answer, according to four sources familiar with CFP discussions, is that Petitti has made assurances of a play-in payday for Big Ten broadcast partners and campus administrators. That major alteration to the way college football is played would require a format that delivers four automatic bids from three games: the top two teams facing off for the Big Ten championship, with both guaranteed a CFP spot; a matchup of the third-place and sixth-place programs with the winner advancing to the playoff; and a game between the fourth-place and fifth-place teams for a CFP bid.
