Leaders of the College Football Playoff met in person on Tuesday and Wednesday but didn’t make any significant progress toward changing the format of the expanded, 12-team postseason to begin next year.
With the Pac-12’s demise, and realignment downsizing the Power 5 to four power conferences, it has been widely expected that the new CFP would shift from six conference champions and six at-large bids to five and seven, respectively.
AAC commissioner Mike Aresco has created some confusion, publicly expressing his support for the 5+7 model on Tuesday before walking those comments back on Wednesday, clarifying that he still supports 6+6 for the 2024 and 2025 season.
The CFP executive committee is currently made up of commissioners from the Power 5 conferences, Group of 5 conferences, and Notre Dame’s athletic director — which makes gaining enough support for some decisions tricky.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said a decision needs to be made this fall. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will likely no longer be a member of the CFP committee by next summer, potentially paving the way for easier changes.
Realignment’s Financial Impact
One of the remaining two Pac-12 universities has revealed the potentially dire effects of conference realignment.
In a letter to students, faculty, and alumni, Oregon State University president Jayathi Murthy and athletics director Scott Barnes said that the school’s athletic department is facing as much as a 44% decline in revenue for fiscal year 2025.
