The idea that the College Football Playoff is considering a proposal to expand to a 12-team model was welcome news for a lot of people. Particularly those closer to home here in Orlando with what the UCF program has gone through over the past five years.
Nobody has questioned the validity of the current playoff system more than Knights fans, who watched their team left out of the mix in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18 despite undefeated records.
“We’re very excited. This is a game-changer for us,” new UCF coach Gus Malzahn said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel. “This is what’s best for college football.”
“Any time you give more teams the opportunity to compete for a national championship on the field, it’s great,” added new UCF athletics director Terry Mohajir. “I loved it with four teams, I love the idea of 12.”
“If it happens, it will be great for the American Athletic Conference and for college football. This gives every team the opportunity to earn it on the field.”
This latest recommendation comes after a four-person working group studied various plans for expansion before settling on a 12-team model.
The Playoff management committee, comprised of the 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick, is expected to hear the recommendation next week in Chicago.
The move was first reported by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger along with The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach.
The working group, which consisted of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsy, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, released a statement Thursday.
“The four-team format has been very popular and is a big success. But it’s important that we consider the opportunity for more teams and more student-athletes to participate in the playoff. After reviewing numerous options, we believe this proposal is the best option to increase participation, enhance the regular season and grow the national excitement of college football.”
This would be the first major change to college football’s postseason since the inception of the Playoff format in 2014.
The 12 teams would be comprised of the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams determined by the 13-member selection committee. The four highest-ranked conference champions would be seeded one through four and would get a bye while the eight other teams would be seeded five through 12 and would play first-round games on campus sites.
No conference would receive an automatic bid into the playoff.
The quarterfinals and semifinals would be played in bowl games with the national championship set for a neutral-site as under the current format.
The first-round games would take place during the two weeks following conference championship games. The quarterfinal games would take place on January 1 or 2 when New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday.
The Playoff’s Board of Managers, which is comprised of 11 school presidents and chancellors from the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame, would have the final decision on any possible changes to the playoff model. A vote could come as early as June 22, when the group is expected to meet in Dallas.
“Now that the working group has presented its proposal, the management committee will solicit input from university presidents, coaches, athletics directors, student-athletes and others,” said Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the Playoff. “That input will help inform what the management committee recommends to the ultimate decision-makers — the presidents and chancellors who serve on the board of managers.
“I do want to remind you that the final decision will be made by the board of managers, and that decision will not come before this fall.”
Momentum for expansion began back in April after the Playoff group revealed that a working group had been considering 63 possibilities for change, including 6-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 16-team options with a variety of scenarios for each.
Access has been a point of contention for many critics of the current playoff model.
Eleven teams have qualified for the 28 available semifinal spots — with Alabama (6), Clemson (6), Ohio State (4), Oklahoma (4) and Notre Dame (2) making multiple appearances. The concern over a lack of variety among the playoff participants caused the biggest pushback, particularly among fans.
If you apply the newly proposed model to last season; Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma would have received byes with Notre Dame (5), Texas A&M (6), Florida (7), Georgia (8), Cincinnati (9), Iowa State (10), Indiana (11) and Coastal Carolina (12) as the remaining eight teams.
Under the new proposal, the Gators would have hosted a first-round game against Iowa State in the Swamp.
In fact, Florida would have made the playoff in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In the case of UCF in 2018, the Knights would have been the No. 8 seed and would have faced No. 9 Washington in Orlando with the winner set to take on No. 1 Alabama in the quarterfinals.
In 2017, UCF would have been the No. 12 seed and would have traveled to Alabama to take on the No. 5 Crimson Tide with the winner set to take on No. 4 Ohio State.
One hurdle that still needs to be addressed is money.
ESPN is paying the conferences $7.3 billion over the 12 years for broadcasting rights for the semifinal games and New Year’s Six access bowl games. Any changes to the format would have to be dependent on reworking the television contract to pay the conferences more revenue.
Another issue to consider is player safety.
The proposed 12-team model means there is a possibility for teams to play as many as 17 games in a season. Officials have long been concerned with the wear-and-tear put on players, hoping to avoid a schedule similar to the ones played by the NFL.
No date was given for implementation of the proposal but Hancock said the format will not change this year or next year.
This is the eighth year of a 12-year contract for the playoff, which runs through 2025-26.
