The leaders of the SEC and Big Ten want to observe how the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff goes before making any future decisions.
On Thursday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti met to discuss the changes in college athletics.
The new 12-team playoff format, starting this season, was the main topic. Sankey emphasized that the presidents and athletic directors are focused on seeing how this works and did not want to discuss hypothetical situations.
“This just has to go incredibly well,” Sankey said. “This has to be a successful launch. This isn’t the time to talk about governance in ’26 or the format in ’26. But the immediate implementation is in front of us.”
There’s a possibility that two more teams will join in 2026 when ESPN’s six-year, $7.8 billion contract to broadcast the playoffs begins.
The conferences have openly expressed a desire for more than just the one automatic bid they will receive this season and next. They want more guarantees and less unpredictability, which mainly relates to the selection committee that will start sharing its rankings on November 5.
One important factor for that committee will be the strength of schedule. Sankey stated that his conference will be reviewing the committee’s work at the same time the committee evaluates the teams. Last year, the committee faced criticism for leaving out the undefeated Florida State from what was then a four-team bracket.
“How the committee evaluates the strength of schedule is important, and I’ll be curious to see how teams are placed within the bracket,” he said. “I think that’s an important learning experience.”
