Over the past few months, conversations have continued regarding a potential expansion to the current 12-team College Football Playoff format. And while nothing has come to fruition just yet on that front, it appears that at least two of the Power Four conferences in college football are starting to be more supportive of a shift to a 16-team format.
Back in February, an in-person meeting between commissioners from every college football conference came and went without any decision to come on the matter. However, that doesn’t mean that these meetings didn’t lay the blueprint for what could shortly be coming.
According to Yahoo Sports college football writer Ross Dellenger, the Power Four conferences met again on Thursday to further discuss the future of the CFP format.
Within the camp of the Big Ten and the SEC, who largely control the future CFP format when the new ESPN deal kicks in after the 2025 season, due to a “memorandum of understanding” signed last spring, there is reportedly “growing support” for a 16-team format.
In this proposed 16-team format, both the Big Ten and SEC would get 8 bids into the CFP, while the ACC and Big 12 would each receive two bids. One bid would be designated to a Group of 6 school, while the remaining three bids would go to at-large teams from any conference.
There is growing B1G-SEC support for a 16-team bracket, most notably a…
4 (SEC)
4 (B1G)
2 (ACC)
2 (B12)
1 (G6)
3 (at large)
…with season-ending inner-league play-in games (3rd place v 6th; 4th vs 5th), as @YahooSports reported in February.https://t.co/Rcl99Wndj9— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 8, 2025
The proposed format change obviously couldn’t make more sense for both the SEC and the Big Ten, as they would each receive more representation in the CFP.
As for how college football fans and media members feel about this proposed format, the reaction is far from overwhelmingly positive.
The year was 2012, and I was among those that celebrated the announcement of the forthcoming 4-team CFP
If I knew then what I know now, I would have punched 2012 me in the face https://t.co/lTAV2kVjez
— Kelley Ford (@KFordRatings) May 9, 2025
There is growing support from me to continue mocking the hell out of this idea. https://t.co/2KdqkcY0mf
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) May 8, 2025
No, College Football does not need a 16-team CFP format with multiple autobids per conference 😭
Literally nobody wants this except SEC & B1G teams who want to be handed CFP spots. https://t.co/4fKV9vw6aJ
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) May 9, 2025
I still want to know why the other conferences signed away their decision making ability to only two conferences. They should’ve called their bluff….i don’t agree with this one bit! https://t.co/w8wFCQX0j5
— Harrison Collier (@hcollier88) May 9, 2025
Given that the SEC and the Big Ten do have as much power over the future format of the CFP as they appear to have, it sure seems like this format shift is bound to happen eventually.
As for when this could happen, Dellinger further added in a post on X that a decision on the matter, which would seemingly go into place in 2026, is expected to come “in the next few months” after further meetings between the Power Five conferences.
A decision is expected over the next month or two. The Big Ten and SEC hold their springs meetings later this month, where the SEC is expected to seriously explore a 9-game conference schedule – a move contingent on a CFP format and negotiations with ESPN for more revenue.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 8, 2025