The Big Ten and SEC hold the authority to determine what the future of the College Football Playoff will look like, and they’re planning to wield their power to ensure both of their conferences will be well-represented.
As the two conferences prepare to hold joint meetings in New Orleans this week, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Sunday that the conferences are discussing proposals to expand the CFP to either 14 or 16 teams with each of their conferences receiving four guaranteed berths in the field.
The model being discussed by the conferences would grant four guaranteed berths to each of the Big Ten and SEC, two guaranteed berths to each of the ACC and Big 12, one guaranteed berth to a non-Power 5 team and either one or three at-large berths depending on whether the CFP expands to 14 or 16 teams, with Notre Dame receiving a guaranteed at-large berth if it finishes in the top 14 of the CFP selection committee’s rankings.
The 14 or 16-team model - 4 AQs each to B1G/SEC; 2 to ACC/B12; 1 G5; 1 or 3 at-large - aligns mostly with conference strength over the last 11 years of the CFP.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 17, 2025
Conference teams (considering realignment) in the top 14/16 of penultimate CFP rankings from 2014-25: pic.twitter.com/OjUhStcQGU
The new playoff model would go into effect in 2026 after the CFP’s initial 12-year contract with ESPN ends this year.
If the new CFP model is implemented, it’s expected that the SEC will move to a nine-game conference schedule like the Big Ten. Additionally, the Big Ten and SEC are discussing the possibility of a regular-season scheduling agreement in which teams from the two conferences would play non-conference games against each other each year.
An expanded playoff with four guaranteed berths for each conference could also potentially mean the end of the Big Ten and SEC Championship Games, though both conferences are reportedly considering the option of replacing the conference championship games with play-in games for their CFP berths.
One such scenario could feature the conferences’ third-place teams playing against their sixth-place teams with their fourth-place teams playing against their fifth-place teams for the conferences’ last two guaranteed berths. Both Yahoo Sports and The Athletic also floated the possibility that all of the conferences’ top eight teams could play in play-in games, with the first-place team playing the eighth-place team and the second-place team playing the seventh-place team.
The 12-team CFP with conference championship games will remain in place for the 2025 season. It remains possible that the playoff seeding format could change for 2025, but all 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame would have to agree on any changes. A memorandum of understanding signed by all 10 conferences and Notre Dame gives the Big Ten and the SEC the authority to determine the playoff format starting in 2026, however, though the conferences are directed to have “meaningful consulation” with the other conferences before making any final decisions.
