AAC Commissioner Open To CFP Format Change, Just Not Yet

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.