College Football Playoff expansion stalemate remains as deadline looms

MIAMI, Fla. — Following the College Football Playoff management committee’s meeting Sunday, sources tell On3’s Chris Low that the SEC would prefer to stick with the 12-team format rather than expand to 24 teams. The Big Ten wants a 24-team model, while the SEC – and the other eight conferences, along with Notre Dame – want a 16-team playoff.

Barring an unprecedented move, the expectation is the 12-team model will remain intact for the 2026 season, with a Friday, Jan. 23 deadline looming for expansion. Earlier this week, a Big Ten source told On3’s Brett McMurphy that they would agree to the 16-team model in 2026 if there was a commitment to expand to 24 teams a few years later.
 
“We probably can get there if there is an actual signed agreement,” the source said. “Not an agreement to agree.”

If an expansion agreement is not in place by Friday, ESPN officials will not grant another extension of the deadline, CFP director Rich Clark said. ESPN, the CFP’s broadcast partner through 2032, previously granted executives an extended deadline from Dec. 1 to Jan. 23.

Clark said that no formal management committee meeting has been set for this week, with the deadline looming. If no expansion decision is made, the 12-team format would stay for the 2026 season. The deadline for expansion in 2027 would be Dec. 1, 2026.

As commissioners exited the management committee meeting on Sunday at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, reactions were muted. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said that there was “still more work to do” for CFP expansion to be reached.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said there’s still time until the deadline, and American Athletic Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti said discussions were ongoing around College Football Playoff expansion.

“We’re only in Year 2 of our 12-team format, so I reminded my colleagues that from when we had the very first notion of going beyond just a four-team playoff to actually having a 12-team playoff, it took five years,” CFP Board chair and Mississippi State president Mark Keenum said. “… The fact that we’re having conversations is a good thing, but there are a lot of things to weigh in on this. All the presidents of all the conferences are speaking through their commissioners, and they’re negotiating this. So we’ll see where it plays out.”