Stuff we've heard before, but there are some new interesting nuggets here.
From Ross Dellenger:
Leaders in each conference have spent the last several weeks evolving a format idea — multiple automatic qualifiers per league — into a more realistic proposal. The 14- or 16-team model would grant four automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten; two each to the ACC and Big 12; and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. It includes one or three at-large spots, one of those intended for Notre Dame if it finishes ranked inside the top 14 — a guarantee specifically designated for the Irish that is part of the CFP memorandum.
Officials describe the 14-team format as a 4-4-2-2-1+1 model in which the top two seeds receive first-round byes. There would be no byes in a 16-team structure. In either, the CFP selection committee’s role is greatly diminished. The committee, its future — as the memorandum stipulates — also controlled by the SEC and Big Ten, would presumably seed 1 through 14 or 16 based directly on its top-25 rankings.
...
A ninth SEC conference game would then set in motion a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten, which itself already plays nine league games. The scheduling agreement, though still in the discussion stages, would pit SEC and Big Ten teams against one another in annual games to be sold as a separate television package.
Though ESPN and Fox already own the home games of SEC and Big Ten schools, respectively, the scheduling arrangement — if it generates big-time matchups (think Texas-Ohio State, LSU-Oregon and Georgia-Michigan) — could be worth annually well into eight figures for the leagues to presumably split.
...
There is a fourth step, too: remake conference championship weekend. Under the models being discussed, each power conference would need to establish the way in which they qualify their teams for the automatic berths.
In either multi-AQ playoff proposal, conference championship games likely become less valuable, and a reimagined championship weekend may feature conference play-in games for the automatic berths, something Yahoo Sports reported in December. These discussions, though preliminary, are happening at the highest levels of conference leadership.
Could the SEC and Big Ten, if guaranteed four spots, pit their third-best team against the sixth and their fourth-best team against their fifth in on-campus, play-in games to the CFP? Would they advance their top two seeds automatically into the CFP or would they still play a title game? Or, would they match their top seed against their eighth-place finisher?
The games could fetch millions more in additional revenue from television partners.
In the Big 12 and ACC, similar conversations are being had.
sports.yahoo.com
From Ross Dellenger:
Leaders in each conference have spent the last several weeks evolving a format idea — multiple automatic qualifiers per league — into a more realistic proposal. The 14- or 16-team model would grant four automatic qualifiers each to the SEC and Big Ten; two each to the ACC and Big 12; and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. It includes one or three at-large spots, one of those intended for Notre Dame if it finishes ranked inside the top 14 — a guarantee specifically designated for the Irish that is part of the CFP memorandum.
Officials describe the 14-team format as a 4-4-2-2-1+1 model in which the top two seeds receive first-round byes. There would be no byes in a 16-team structure. In either, the CFP selection committee’s role is greatly diminished. The committee, its future — as the memorandum stipulates — also controlled by the SEC and Big Ten, would presumably seed 1 through 14 or 16 based directly on its top-25 rankings.
...
A ninth SEC conference game would then set in motion a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten, which itself already plays nine league games. The scheduling agreement, though still in the discussion stages, would pit SEC and Big Ten teams against one another in annual games to be sold as a separate television package.
Though ESPN and Fox already own the home games of SEC and Big Ten schools, respectively, the scheduling arrangement — if it generates big-time matchups (think Texas-Ohio State, LSU-Oregon and Georgia-Michigan) — could be worth annually well into eight figures for the leagues to presumably split.
...
There is a fourth step, too: remake conference championship weekend. Under the models being discussed, each power conference would need to establish the way in which they qualify their teams for the automatic berths.
In either multi-AQ playoff proposal, conference championship games likely become less valuable, and a reimagined championship weekend may feature conference play-in games for the automatic berths, something Yahoo Sports reported in December. These discussions, though preliminary, are happening at the highest levels of conference leadership.
Could the SEC and Big Ten, if guaranteed four spots, pit their third-best team against the sixth and their fourth-best team against their fifth in on-campus, play-in games to the CFP? Would they advance their top two seeds automatically into the CFP or would they still play a title game? Or, would they match their top seed against their eighth-place finisher?
The games could fetch millions more in additional revenue from television partners.
In the Big 12 and ACC, similar conversations are being had.
Sources: SEC, Big Ten building momentum to further expand College Football Playoff to 14 or 16 teams
The conferences are pushing to assign multiple automatic qualifiers per league, with as many as four each for themselves. In short, a plethora of changes are on the table.
sports.yahoo.com
