Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti is standing firm on the conference’s push for an expanded College Football Playoff format that awards four automatic qualifiers to both the Big Ten and SEC.
“I really believe that you’ve got to have a postseason format that makes the regular season better,” Petitti said on The Joel Klatt Show. “So I start from that. I want more teams to feel like they’re chasing that opportunity to compete for a national championship.”
Should the CFP expand from 12 to 16 teams in 2026 and beyond, the Big Ten is pushing for a model that gives the Big Ten and SEC four automatic spots, the ACC and Big 12 two spots each, one spot for the highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champion, and then three at-large bids.
During SEC and Big 12 spring meetings, those conferences started building momentum around a 5 + 11 model that would have just five automatic spots for the five highest-ranked conference champions, and 11 at-large bids. Petitti is not a fan of that model because he said that would give the CFP selection committee more to do. “Because if you go to 16, and you have 11 at-large, you just added even more decision-making,” Petitti said.
New Horizons
Part of the lure of the Big Ten having four automatic CFP spots is the opportunity to create a “play-in weekend” with two winner-take-all matchups, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5, in addition to the conference championship game.
“That’s a great weekend for college football,” Petitti said. “The best way to market the sport is to play more good games.”
No Bad Blood
With the Big Ten and SEC considering a scheduling partnership that would see the conferences play more games against each other, Petitti isn’t bothered by any of the current disagreements about the CFP format.
“We have a great relationship with the SEC,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of really good things together. I think what they do is they put out why they think they’re strong. That’s what leagues do. There’s no negativity. Every league should make its own case. We make our case.”
There is a Dec. 1 deadline to formally decide on any changes to the CFP format for the 2026 season.
