Conference commissioner pens open letter to college football pushing playoff expansion

Expansion of the College Football Playoff continues to be a widely discussed topic across the sport. With seemingly little to no progress being made over recent months, American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco has penned an open letter to the CFP, urging for CFP expansion.

Cincinnati, who plays in the AAC, became the first Group of 5 team to ever make the CFP this season. But even with the Bearcats getting a seat at the table this season, worthy teams are still being omitted from the playoff. Aresco and the AAC back the 12-team playoff model that includes six conference champions and six at-large teams, and a “firm majority” of the commissioners back that model as well.

“As NCAA Division I athletics embarks on transformational changes in the coming weeks and months, and as the College Football Playoff (“CFP”) leadership looks to the future, we have a unique opportunity to reshape college football with a modern postseason format that will profoundly enhance the national stature of the sport,” Aresco said.

“Recognizing that the current four-team playoff excludes worthy teams, the CFP Working Group (SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson, and Notre Dame Athletic Director, Jack Swarbrick) submitted a proposal for a 12-team playoff in June 2021 that is an enormous step in the right direction and remedies the shortcomings that have historically and recently affected FBS postseason football.”

Aresco hopes for CFP expansion as soon as possible

The current CFP format, which includes just four teams, is set to expire following the 2025 season. Aresco hopes that a new format, if approved, can be put into place prior to the 2026 season. For Aresco and the AAC, he sees two main issues that have led to the lack of progress towards CFP expansion.

The first issue, per Aresco, is that the ACC has publicly opposed CFP expansion due to “healthy and safety concerns” and the instable nature of college athletics right now. The other issue is another possible format, which would give the current Power 5 (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12, and Pac-12) conference champions an automatic spot in the CFP. There would be one spot remaining, which would go to a team from the Group of 5. This proposal has received “minimal support,” according to Aresco. Contracts for bowl games, revenue distributions, and locations of games are other issues in CFP expansion, although they aren’t as much of a hinderance as the two issues mentioned by Aresco.

In response to the two issues he pointed out, Aresco suggested that, to make up for the additional game(s) with an expanded playoff, the setup of a 12-team playoff, with first round byes for top seeds, would offset some of that wear and tear. Other ideas could be implemented as well, including a possible longer period between conference championship weekend and the start of the playoff. Aresco also doesn’t believe that the current issues regarding stability in college athletics (including NIL, transfer portal, etc.) really impact the CFP all that much.

Aresco went on to call for the stoppage of Power Five and Group of Five branding. He believes that it is “harmful to the sport and to the perception of fairness.” Simply put, Aresco and the AAC want a fair and honest seat at the table, and to be on the same playing field as the other conferences. And he wants it to be done quickly.

“We are on the clock, and our window is narrowing for an agreement on a plan that could be implemented in 2024 and 2025,” said Aresco. “And although frustration has intensified, there is still hope. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of the Working Group, significant and skillful work has been done. As hard as its task clearly was, the Working Group has delivered an excellent proposal that creates a better playoff, a playoff with a solid foundation animated by a spirit of fairness, integrity and equal access, and which enhances the overall health of college football.”