Will the College Football Playoff Expansion Affect SEC and Big Ten Championship Games?

Re-writing the CFP may re-write a larger chunk of college football history.

The path to the College Football Playoff trophy may well soon not include a conference title game. (Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After yesterday's revelation that a 24-team College Football Playoff appears to be all but guaranteed, the ground damage from this decision is still being surveyed. But one thing is clear-- in a world with a 24-team Playoff, there's almost no basis for keeping conference championship games, particularly in leagues like the SEC and Big Ten, where multiple Playoff bids are certain.

But then, conference championshp games really were a creation added to stretch revenues and help clear up a confused title setting. Before the first CFP in 2014, the entire season moved toward a two-team national title game... which itself didn't really exist realiably before the mid-1990s. If getting rid of conference championship games is the price to pay to avoid situations like the 1960s or 1970s, where a literal handful of teams made contradictory national championship claims, then college football fans long ago would have likely approved almost anything.

SEC Title Game History

The SEC opened its championship game era in 1992, with Alabama winning the first game. It's worth noting that between 2006 and 2013, the winner of the SEC title game played in the national championship every year. Since 2014, the SEC title game winner has appeared in the College Football Playoff every season. As the picture has gone from two teams to four to 12 to soon 24, the need for an elimination game has become less and less.

Big Ten Title Game History

The situation is even clearer for the Big Ten. The conference couldn't play a title game until it expanded in 2010, and the first B1G title game was then held in 2011. The Big Ten title winner missed the Playoff from 2016 to 2018, but hasn't missed since. Again, there's no need for an elimination game.

Timing Concerns

The other point that makes it likely that the game will disappear for the SEC and Big Ten is the simple matter of timing. A move to 24 teams will add another week to the postseason. The Playoff already runs for a full month without adding another week into the battle. Eliminating conference championships should still give teams roughly a three-week break ahead of the Playoff... although a season ago, momentum was already gathering to move up the back end of the Playoff due to its implication with the spring semester for potential transfer pool entrants. With the portal window sloping toward February for teams making deep CFP runs, a move further up could well be on the plan for the world of a 24-team Playoff.