Commissioners of the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences hinted that they know how they’re going to vote if the issue arises of changing the seeding format for future College Football Playoff tournaments.
Greg Sankey of the SEC and the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti would no longer guarantee conference champions the top four berths in the bracket if they don’t end up within the top four of the final CFP standings.
Those coveted top-four seeds are assured a bye in the first round.
Any changes need the unanimous approval of all 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua. The Fighting Irish are not affiliated with a conference in football.
The seedings proved controversial in the past season’s CFP bracket, the first one to feature 12 teams instead of four.
The Mountain West’s Boise State finished ninth in the final CFP standings but was awarded the third seed for winning the conference. Similarly, Arizona State finished 12th in the rankings but slid into the fourth seed because it won the Big 12.
The third- and fourth-ranked teams in the final standings, Texas (SEC) and Penn State (Big Ten), respectively, were pushed down to fifth and sixth in the bracket because they did not win their conferences.
Petitti wants the five highest-ranked conference champions to automatically earn spots in the CFP tournament, but not necessarily the top four seeds.
“We’re in favor of going to a straight seeding, where there’s no difference between rankings and seeding like we had this year. We’re in support of that for next year,” Petitti said.
Sankey also said he is “prepared to vote for a seeding change.”
The 10 commissioners and Bevacqua, who make up the CFP management committee, are to meet next week in Dallas to review last season’s tournament.
The Big Ten and SEC will carry extra clout going into the CFP format for the tournament capping the 2026-27 season. Changes at that point could include expanding to 14 teams.
“Oh, it’s gonna go to 14. I would bank on that,” ESPN reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed Big Ten source.
–Field Level Media
