ATLANTA — Wealthy Clark, the chief director of the Faculty Soccer Playoff, reacted Monday to the newest format concept by realizing he needed to take again an earlier thought.
“I used to joke, effectively, subsequent factor they’re going to say 30 (groups). Properly, we’re virtually there,” Clark mentioned.
The phrase broke over the weekend that the Large Ten was contemplating proposing a radical growth concept to 24 and even 28 groups. This got here amid an encroaching Dec. 1 deadline for the ability brokers, principally the Large Ten and SEC, to agree on a brand new format. If they can’t, it stays at 12 groups for no less than the 2026 season, and Clark can be high quality with that.
“I might quite keep at this than rush to a call that’s not good,” Clark mentioned. “So if the choice is that we keep on the 12-team playoff till we all know extra, till we watch that one other 12 months, till we are able to focus on the opposite choices on the desk somewhat bit extra, it’s price sticking to the 12 group till we are able to come to essentially a stable, sound determination for the long run.”
The Large Ten’s concept is basically a tweak — a significant one — to the suggestion it has been pushing since earlier this 12 months: a 16-team subject with 4 computerized bids every for the Large Ten and SEC, two every for the ACC and Large 12, one for the Group of 5 and three at-large bids. And in Large Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s imaginative and prescient, the Large Ten and maybe different conferences would decide their computerized bids with play-in video games on championship weekend.
With the Large Ten’s concept dropping traction, the convention has begun floating the brand new concept: The play-in video games can be performed between different conferences. There would nonetheless be computerized bids, akin to a 28-team subject with seven every for the SEC and Large Ten, 5 every for the ACC and Large 12, two for the Group of 5 and a few at-large bids. Then there can be first-round video games of SEC versus Large Ten, or SEC versus ACC, and many others.
“It’s a bigger, extra expansive model of the 16-team playoff,” Clark mentioned. “But it surely’s one thing that we’ll should dig into the small print and actually perceive it. However I’m positive there’s a variety of advantage to it, however we’ll have to take a look at what the cons are as effectively, as a result of there’s clearly going to be some, some value to doing that, but when the prices don’t outweigh the advantages, it has advantage.”
Clark realized of the newest massive concept the identical manner most did Saturday, by way of media stories. He mentioned that was high quality, indicating it confirmed that the concept is within the early levels.
“The factor I like about it’s it’s one other concept,” Clark mentioned. “And as many concepts as we are able to get on the desk and actually have the dialogue now, in order that we’re not doing one thing later — that we go ‘I want we had considered this, or want we considered that.’ That’s not what we would like. So if there’s an concept that comes out, we would like it on the desk. We would like to have the ability to focus on it.”
The Large Ten’s concept was not a complete unknown to the SEC. The concept of getting play-in video games between conferences was talked about on the SEC spring conferences by a number of athletic administrators, however in a extra casual method. Final month at SEC media days, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz proposed basically a 30-team subject utilizing play-in video games, arguing for conserving extra groups and fan bases engaged later into the season.
“Now you’ve acquired a chance for 30 groups, 30 fan bases with a chance to get excited and engaged and (get) income,” Drinkwitz mentioned. “Thirty groups with gamers who’ve entry to compete for a championship. To me, that makes much more sense.”
Nonetheless, public urge for food for added growth after one 12 months of the 12-team CFP appears low, as Clark noticed Monday. He spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the Peach Bowl, which hosts this 12 months’s CFP semifinal. When Clark requested the room if anyone favored CFP growth, no person applauded. When Clark informed the gang that it could keep at 12 for an additional 12 months if no determination comes by Dec. 1, a handful of individuals clapped.
The following CFP assembly is in late September. The Large Ten and SEC basically maintain decision-making energy, so long as they seek the advice of with the opposite conferences, and extra importantly, so long as they’ll agree on a format. The SEC has not purchased into the unique Large Ten concept, and it’s unclear if it is going to be offered on this one. Or even when the Large Ten will formally suggest it.
“Will we get there by Dec. 1? Arduous to say, proper?” Clark mentioned. “But when we don’t, what we all know is we’ll keep on with this playoff, the present format, and it’s not too late after that to even change (for 2027 and past). So we are able to’t negate our alternative to take a look at this sooner or later, proper? And perhaps it’s that we put it off a 12 months and we decide later, or perhaps we determine that the 12 group is right here to remain.
“I actually can’t say. We’ve acquired to have a deep dialogue about this, like now we have the opposite choices, and we’ll determine our manner forward.”
(Picture: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA At present Community through Imagn Photographs)
