Big Ten Moves CFP Expansion Goalposts Up to 28

The already chaotic world of college football is still digesting the highly complex logistics of how to expand the College Football Playoff from 12 to 16 teams. Now, a much more radical notion for the sport’s top event is making the rounds. 

The Big Ten, led by commissioner Tony Petitti, is considering a far larger CFP expansion to 24 or 28 teams, according to multiple reports. While still very much just an idea, and not something that’s been formally proposed, the concept was almost simultaneously disseminated Saturday afternoon by several top college football reporters, and with similar phrasing, signaling the conference’s keen interest in an even larger CFP format. 

In a 28-team CFP model, the Big Ten and SEC would each receive seven automatic bids, while the ACC and Big 12 would each get five, with two automatic bids for non-Power 4 conferences and two additional at-large berths. 

The enlarged structure, in addition to deepening the already massive power of the Big Ten and SEC, would see as many as 20 of the games played on college campuses—significantly enlarging the element of the tournament that debuted last year. 

A potential elimination of conference title games would help accommodate the additional CFP games from a timing and scheduling standpoint. Discussion of the far larger format arrives as negotiations between Power Four conferences and the rest of college football on a 16-team structure have stalled, in part from disagreement on how to allocate automatic bids.

Initial reaction to the latest concept, however, was harsh in many corners, with complaints ranging from the impact on prominent football independents such as Notre Dame to rewarding non-elite teams.

“Can someone go unplug the Big Ten and plug it back in please?” posted ESPN’s Bill Connelly on social media. “They’re trying to make ’16 teams with autobids’ seem rational and acceptable, and it sucks so much.”

Postseason expansion, however, is not a new concept for Petitti. While at MLB for more than a decade, ultimately as deputy commissioner, he was part of a leadership team that introduced several changes to that league’s playoffs, including a new wild-card format. 

This year’s CFP will again be a 12-team format, and there is a Dec. 1 deadline to finalize the format for 2026.