It appears quite clear that we will have a 16-team College Football Playoff Format in some fashion for the 2026 college football season. And on Tuesday, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark again reaffirmed his belief that the “5+11” format is the best way for the sport to go about an expansion to a 16-team CFP.
Currently, there are two 16-team CFP models that have gained traction as possible options for the future CFP format.
The 5+11 format concept would feature the five highest-ranked conference champions receiving automatic bids, with the remaining 11 teams receiving a bid coming from at-large schools decided by the CFP Committee.
The other popular format, recently proposed by Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, would instead feature more automatic bids, with the Big Ten and SEC each receiving four automatic bids, the Big 12 and ACC each receiving two bids, one auto-bid for a Group of 5 champion, and three at-large selections made by the CFP Committee.
At the beginning of the Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday, Yormark declared that he still believes that the 5+11 format is the best format, both for the future of college football and for the Big 12 Conference specifically.
“Five-11 is fair,” Yormark said in his opening address at Big 12 Media Days, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. “We want to earn it on the field. It might not be the best solution today for the Big 12 … but long-term, knowing the progress we’re making, the investments we’re making, it’s the right format for us. And I’m doubling down today on 5+11.”
While some, like Joel Klatt, aren’t exactly sure that the 5+11 format would be in the Big 12’s best interest, there are some obvious positives about the proposed format for the conference.
If the 5+11 format were to go into place, the Big 12 would only be guaranteed one CFP representative each year. However, Yormark appears quite confident that the Big 12 can feature several strong teams at the top on a consistent basis, which would give the conference the opportunity to get more representation in the 5+11 format through the 11 at-large teams that get in annually.
Specifically speaking to this, Yorkmark voiced his confidence that the conference would have multiple representatives on an annual basis, declaring that the Big 12 will be “the deepest football conference in America.”
“Once again, I believe we will be the deepest football conference in America,” Yormark said. “No league offers the competitive balance that we do. I fully expect the Big 12 to earn multiple College Football Playoff bids this year and to show once again that we can compete with anyone.”
The Big Ten is one of the two conferences along with the SEC that hold the majority of the power in determining which format will ultimately go into place, which comes after the “memorandum of understanding” was signed last year that granted the Big Ten and SEC near autonomous control over the CFP format.
Despite the fact that the Big Ten seems far from bullish about the 5+11 format, Yormark remains confident that 5+11 will ultimately be the format that wins out for 2026.
“I’m confident we’ll get to the right place,” Yormark added . “And ultimately, I’m confident we’ll go to 5+11.”