The Big Ten is exploring the idea of a massive expansion of the College Football Playoff field to 24 or 28 teams, multiple outlets reported Saturday.
The proposal is still “in the very early stages,” with Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti discussing it with his league’s athletic directors on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
The 28-team model would reportedly eliminate conference title games and offer a high number of automatic bids to Power 4 conferences: seven each for the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference and five each for the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference. There would be two auto bids for the remaining conferences plus two at-large teams.
Under this plan, the CFP committee would seed the field and select the at-large teams.
The 2025 season marks the second year with a 12-team playoff, with the Big Ten’s Ohio State winning it all after the 2024 campaign.
CFP executives have until Dec. 1 to notify media partner ESPN of any expansion plans for 2026. Plans discussed to this point have generally focused on a potential 16-team format.
–Field Level Media
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