College Conference Commissioners Release Statements on CFP Expansion
Friday’s news that the College Football Playoff is expanding from four teams to 12 no later than 2026 seemingly ended a drawn-out debate to one of college football’s major issues in competition. And after the news broke, commissioners across the college football landscape chimed in.
The expansion means that most of the programs in these conferences will have an exponentially better chance at playing for a national championship than ever before.
The new model grants automatic bids to the six highest-ranked conference champions, gives first-round byes to the highest ranked four champions and completes the field with six at-large selections. First-round games, between seeds 5 through 12, are expected to be played on campus or at a location designated by the better seed. A rotation of six bowls will host quarterfinals and semifinals. For more complete details of the model, see here.
The Pac-12 as well as the commissioners of the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC, Mountain West, and Conference USA shared statements on the impending CFP changes throughout the day on Friday:
Statement on @CFBPlayoff expansion: pic.twitter.com/S6Wikdl8N9
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) September 2, 2022
SEC commish Greg Sankey on CFP expansion pic.twitter.com/u8lghm5Bbg
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) September 2, 2022
Statement from Big Ten commisiomer Kevin Warren regarding today's CFP expansion news: pic.twitter.com/QyeLdBOZJf
— Richard🇬🇾Johnson (@RJ_cfb) September 3, 2022
Statement from Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark 🚨
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 2, 2022
“This is a great day for college football. The expanded access to the CFP will increase fan interest and puts an even greater emphasis on the regular season. I look forward to the Big 12’s participation in the Playoff.” https://t.co/ixD28Wf8j2
— The ACC (@theACC) September 2, 2022
Commissioner Thompson Statement On Expanded College Football Playoff pic.twitter.com/hCEgpHywhK
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) September 2, 2022
Commissioner MacLeod on College Football Playoff expansion: pic.twitter.com/IpM6FP3fWA
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) September 2, 2022
