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The Atlantic Coast Conference supports the Big Ten’s push for a 24-team playoff, Commissioner Jim Phillips said Wednesday.
Speaking at the end of three days of spring meetings at a posh northeast Florida resort, Phillips said ACC coaches and athletic directors had reached a consensus on wanting to double down on the current College Football Playoff model.
“When you exclude national championship-contending teams and schools from the playoffs, you don’t have the right number,” Phillips said. “We experienced it.”
Phillips pointed out that undefeated Florida State was snubbed from a four-team CFP field in 2023 and that Notre Dame was left out of last year’s 12-team model.
“Notre Dame was a CFP-worthy team this year; they just were,” he said. “The other reason is there’s so much investment going on in football and in college athletics. … If you’re asking presidents and chancellors and boards of trustees to continue to invest in their football programs, it’s really important that they have hope, that they have an opportunity early in the season to make the playoffs.”
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips has officially backed the Big Ten’s plans for a 24-team College Football Playoff. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Coaches and administrators have called for greater access to the lucrative and potentially job-saving playoffs. They point out that there are only 12 playoff spots for 138 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, a tiny percentage compared to many other college sports or major professional leagues.
“The more, the merrier,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said. “The more opportunities there are to bring teams together and provide opportunities for student-athletes.”
Phillips also said television partner ESPN “has been pretty clear with all of us that they would like to keep it at 12, maybe 14, but no more than 16.”
No matter how much the ACC and other leagues support a 24-team playoff, the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference have the sole power to determine the future of the CFP. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and the SEC’s Greg Sankey have the final say on any expansion.
The SEC is working to expand to 16 teams, with an emphasis on at-large bids. The Big Ten supports 24 teams and initially wanted multiple automatic qualifiers for each conference.
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The playoffs expanded from four to 12 teams in 2024, and after decision-makers failed to reach an expansion deal, the CFP will use the same model for the 2026-27 season. The discussion has major implications for the college football schedule, including the start and end of the season and the role of money-making conference championship games.
An NCAA committee recommended last month that FBS teams play a 12-game, 14-week schedule starting in 2027, with the season beginning on the Thursday of what is now designated week zero and ending the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Last week, the American Football Coaches Association proposed changes to the schedule, including eliminating conference championship games, reducing scheduled bye weeks from two to one and reducing the minimum number of days between games to no fewer than six.
Sankey stood firm earlier this week in expanding its CFP to 16 teams.
Sankey said any changes in college athletics must be accompanied by proper research — something he believes the SEC has provided to support an expansion from four teams to 16. For Sankey, moving to 16 teams is an unknown, with a big question being whether an expanded postseason would offset an SEC title game that generates more than $80 million annually for the Central Conference.
The current CFP contract includes a deadline of December 1, 2026 to make changes for the following season.
Associated Press reporting.
