The College Football Playoff is expanding…again…

Shortly after deciding to expand to a 12-team format, the College Football Playoff Committee is allegedly preparing to move to a 14-team tournament starting in 2026. The move can only be described as yet another money grab for the Power 5 conferences, mainly the BIG 10 and SEC, as well as the somehow still independent Notre Dame.

The two best conferences in college football are set to make about $21 Million per year, per school, in a hypothetical 14-team format, a number that’s up from the $5.5 million the Power 5 leagues are currently being paid. As for the other Power 5 conferences, the ACC and Big 12 will both make about $12 Million per year, per program while Notre Dame is due to make around the same.

Group of Five conferences such as the Mountain West, AAC, and Sun Belt would bring in just under $2 Million while the prospect of any financial bonus for making the Playoff would be eliminated.

So what does all that mean? Well, it means the SEC and BIG 10 have the NCAA in a “Stone Cold Stunner”. The SEC is the Sidney Deane to the BIG 10’s Billy Hoyle.

While the logistics of a 14-team Playoff haven’t been finalized (or even discussed, allegedly), one has to assume it would involve at least two automatic bids for the two best conferences in college football, leaving 10 spots for Notre Dame, the ACC, Big 12, whatever the hell the new PAC 12 looks like, and the Group of 5.

As an Auburn fan I can’t help but selfishly love the idea but as a College Football fan I am slightly concerned. I know the “slippery slope” metaphor is an overused fallacy, but circumstances like this make me believe in it. Let’s just take a look at some of the other recent developments around college sports.

After years of mediocre high-major teams making the NCAA basketball Tournament over very good mid-majors, the discussion has finally shifted in favor of the little guy. Most bracketologists and fans believe a team like Indiana State, who lost the MVC Championship game but has been nationally ranked this season, deserves to make the NCAA Tournament this season over a 19 win Michigan State or 18 win Villanova.

Unfortunately the higher-ups and decision makers don’t agree with the fan’s sentiment. Just look at what the NIT Committee just did. In the new format, the mid-major regular season champions no longer receive an automatic bid to the tournament. Instead, mediocre high-majors will be competing thanks to more at-large selections made by the committee. Why? Money.

NIT announces changes to tournament selection format https://t.co/i9ILIvymCP

— Seton Hall Student (@sacketology) March 7, 2024

The NIT’s decision is a microcosm of what college sports have become. If you don’t play in the SEC, BIG 12, ACC, or BIG 10, you’re school doesn’t matter. A 14-team College Football Playoff reaffirms that. Eventually this thing is going to come to a head and we’re going to have a 25-team SEC going up against a 25-team BIG 10. Why would any school not strive to join the money makers?

Mid-Majors are dying. It’s now clear an expanded College Football Playoff isn’t being put in place to revive the little guy. It’s there to bleed them dry.

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