Big Ten pushes 24-team playoff or no change at all

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said his conference is pushing for a 24-team College Football Playoff or no expansion at all.

Conference leaders finished their spring meetings outside Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The playoff format drew the most attention after the push in Congress to protect college sports.

Commissioners from the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Group of Five have traded public comments on expansion. Petitti leads the call for 24 teams. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has said he prefers to keep the current 12-team field or add only four teams.

Petitti made clear this week that the Big Ten will accept either a 24-team format or no change.

Many fans on social media have said they would rather keep the playoff at 12 teams. Still, the added revenue from a larger field is hard for schools to ignore as roster costs rise.

The Big Ten has won three straight College Football Playoff titles and Michigan added a basketball championship. The conference now acts like the dominant power in college sports based on recent titles.

Petitti said the Big Ten did not discuss a 16-team format. He called it unworkable because of lost revenue from conference championship games. ESPN and Fox pay about $160 million combined to broadcast the Big Ten and SEC title games.

Sankey has said his conference is locked into those contracts. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea suggested the playoff could replace some traditional end-of-season games in Atlanta, with winners earning playoff spots.

"We're going to have to let go of some traditional end of the year elements in college football," Lea said. He added that he thinks a conference championship would still be part of the plan.

Petitti said the Big Ten spent no time debating a 16-team model. "It's the first year of the new deal. It's still just getting started. We'd stay with twelve teams," he said, if a 24-team format is rejected.

Big Ten COO Kerry Kenny told reporters that 80 teams would have reached the playoff since 2014 under a 24-team format. The conference has shared those numbers with other leagues.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark had pushed for 16 teams three months ago. Now they are open to a larger field for the extra money.

The Dec. 1 deadline for a decision is approaching. All eyes will turn to Sankey when SEC leaders meet next week in Destin, Florida. Petitti said the two conferences "work really well together" even when they disagree.

The Big Ten has stated its position: 24 teams or stay at 12. The SEC is holding its ground for now while trying to close the gap in recent titles.