Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel Endorses 24-Team College Football Playoff Expansion

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel recently voiced his support for College Football Playoff expansion.

The College Football Playoff is one of the sports most exciting spectacles, and has provided fans with a handful of massive games over the past few seasons. However, it has also become an extremely controversial aspect of the game.

Scheduling formats, overall seeding, and committee selections have become the foundation for almost every major argument that takes place in college football today, and the playoff appears to be the root cause of all these discussions.

One of the most recent debates taking place around the College Football Playoff was the prospect of expanding the format from 12 teams to 24. The idea was originally proposed by the Big Ten conference, however, it was denied and the current format of 12 teams will remain throughout the 2026 season.

But while Big Ten officials are heavily lobbying for the playoff's expansion, there are also some SEC head coaches who appear to be in support of expansion. One of the supporters is Tennessee Volunteers' head coach Josh Heupel, who recently voiced his support during an interview with On3.

"The way college football is constantly changing, that probably makes the most sense," Heupel told On3.

Tennessee's Brief History in the College Football Playoff

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) runs past Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Jermod McCoy (3) during the first half of the College Football Playoff first round game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Dec. 21, 2024. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Since its inception in 2014, the Volunteers have appeared in just one College Football Playoff, which came during the 2024 season. Despite this, the team has frequently finished inside the top 25, which would likely make them playoff a team in a 24-team format.

Tennessee's frequent presence in the top-25, along with their recent successes make Josh Heupel's support of a 24-team playoff very understandable. Should expansion happen, Tennessee will almost immediately become a consistent shoo-in for the College Football Playoff.

While some SEC coaches and officials have voiced their support for an expanded playoff, the topic of expansion remains heavily debated and will likely have numerous more arguments before a verdict is reached.

Regardless of these arguments, the Vols will be looking to earn their second-ever College Football Playoff appearance this season and will be heavily focused on succeeding in 2026 in hopes of ending their national championship drought of nearly 30 years.

Tennessee will begin it's 2026 college football season on Saturday, September 5, against the Furman Paladins in Knoxville, Tennessee. A kick-off time and TV network for this game will be announced at a later date.