College Football Playoff expansion talks left unresolved as debate continues over 16-, 24-team format

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IRVING, Texas -- The College Football Playoff Management Committee continued to weigh multiple potential formats during their annual meetings this week. However, despite openness in the room, no decision was made.

"We've been having a good cadence of discussions, some of them in this forum and some in smaller forums," CFP executive director Rich Clark said. "I wish you could say that it was just about changing the format, but when you look at everything that it impacts, we don't want to leave a stone unturned and make a decision that's going to have second- or third-order effects that we didn't consider."

Clark confirmed that expansion conversations were primarily focused on 16- and 24-team fields, with remaining at 12 still a possibility. To change the format, the decision must be approved by Dec. 1. According to reports, the SEC prefers a 16-team format, while the Big Ten is pushing for expansion to 24.

A potential 24-team playoff would add 12 games and an additional round of the tournament. The committee received presentations from analysts who projected what viewership could look like with a changed format, along with conversations with network partners.

"The room is open," Clark said. "Pretty much every commissioner in there has indicated that. We know that some of them probably lean more towards one format than another, but they want the truth. They want the facts so that they make a good decision."

Schedule remains one of the greatest complications. Historically, the national title game was set for the second Monday of January. With the 12-team playoff, it's pushed at least two weeks later. Additionally, as the season goes longer, the NFL starts to encroach.

The NFL starts playing games on Saturday in December, which has become a major complication for the college football postseason. Each of the past two years, two of the four first-round games have gone up against NFL matchups; they have drawn substantially fewer viewers. If the playoff were to add another round, it would either have to play on weekdays or risk some of its most valuable games against the most powerful league in sports.

"It's not unrealistic that we could play a 24- or 16-team system," Clark said. "It's not unrealistic. We could figure out ways to make it happen. But it's just what are the gives and takes you have to have to make it happen?"

Sankey pushes for defined eligibility

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was largely silent on discussions about the College Football Playoff format, primarily pointing back to his previous endorsement of a 16-team field. However, he expressed openness to a key aspect of President Donald Trump's new executive order: The five-year eligibility window.

"We need to have a defined period of eligibility," Sankey said. "This six, seven, eight, nine-year stuff shouldn't be happening, whether it's waiver-driven by the NCAA, which I think started it, or not, people running to the courts."

According to the executive order, players would only be allowed to play college athletes for a five-year period. One proposal would have the clock automatically start upon college graduation or an athlete's 19th birthday, whichever comes first.

The SEC has become a key battleground of the eligibility battle as multiple players sued for more years of eligibility. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss ultimately received a judgement through the court system that made him eligible for the 2026 season, and Oklahoma linebacker Owen Heinecke followed suit. Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was ultimately denied a similar waiver.

The blanket COVID eligibility waiver was a significant driver of complications for high school recruits as many programs opted to find experienced transfers over development. Nearly every COVID senior has aged out of college football, but the rising money in college athletics means several players are trying to extend their windows.

"We need to bring in the next wave of high school participants to provide them opportunities, not extend eligibility and take those opportunities away. There's plenty of opinions about what I just said, but that's my opinion and it's consistent with an educational model. That's where I think we should be focusing our conversation, not simply on what I think about a five-year model… it should be presented with the right kind of rationale, and then we need to stick to whatever we have."

Capping an athlete's window on their 24th birthday would also limit international athletes' ability to come over at later dates with full eligibility. Former Baylor center James Nnaji caused controversy when he enrolled at the school over the winter, despite having been selected in the NBA Draft. He was granted four years of eligibility by the NCAA clearinghouse despite being 21.