Pac-12 Conference announces the elimination of divisional requirements for football championship game

The Pac-12 announced a major change Wednesday regarding the criteria for determining the participants in its football conference championship game. According to a press release, the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will play for the league crown at the end of the season.

In the past, the winner from the Pac-12 South division faced off against the winner from the Pac-12 North. However, the NCAA Division I council voted to relax its restrictions of FBS conference championship games, opening the door for leagues to determine their own criteria.

The measure to rid of divisional requirements passed with unanimous support from the Pac-12’s head football coaches, athletic directors and board of directors.

“Our goal is to place our two best teams in our Pac-12 Football Championship Game, which we believe will provide our conference with the best opportunity to optimize CFP invitations and ultimately win national championships,” conference commissioner George Kliavkoff said. “Today’s decision is an important step towards that goal and immediately increases both fan interest in, and the media value of, our Football Championship Game.”

The Pac-12 stated in its press release that the 2022 conference schedule, which was based on the two divisions, will remain in place. No decision has been made on whether to continue to require teams in the same division to play each other annually beyond that.

NCAA announces relaxed requirements for conference championship games

The NCAA announced Wednesday via social media that the Division I Council will relax restrictions for FBS football conference championship games. With more flexibility in choosing the participants, the door is open for a number of proposed scheduling changes and format shifts from conferences around the country.

The NCAA also announced that the actions taken are not final until Wednesday’s meeting officially closes, leaving the door open for more debate should a complaint arise in the coming hours.

Under the NCAA’s former division model, Alabama could not face LSU in the SEC championship game, Michigan could not face Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game and Clemson could not face Miami in the ACC championship game. However, those matchups and more could become possible if each conferences opts to take advantage of the loosened restrictions and create new structures.

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report.