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David Pollack calls for an end to conference championship games

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp05/20/25
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 25 Shamrock Series - Notre Dame v Wisconsin
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 25: ESPN College Gameday personality David Pollack listens to others prior to a college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Wisconsin Badgers on September 25th, 2021 at Solider Field in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Dan Sanger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

College Football Playoff expansion could drastically alter the landscape for conference championship games. In fact, some high-profile analysts are already calling for the end of league title games.

Former ESPN analyst David Pollack brought up the topic recently on the See Ball Get Ball podcast. He put things in no uncertain terms.

“I think the conference championship games will be an interesting discussion point with that,” Pollack said, referring to playoff expansion. “Again, if you’re going to add on more and more games to the body, yeah, I do think (championship games should go away). But that’s also going to be money. That’s also going to be data points. But yes, that needs to go away.”

There’s going to be quite the tug of war between the powers at be in college football over conference championship games. On the one hand, they can be immense wealth drivers. Games like the SEC and Big Ten championship are huge events.

On the other hand, the games themselves are losing importance with the expanded playoff field. At what point do they become redundant or even a detriment to a team’s playoff aspirations?

Then there’s another factor for Pollack. And he’d know a thing or two about it.

“We need to talk about safety of kids at some point,” Pollack said. “Well when you keep putting on more and more games and they’re finishing with 20 games in a regular season, that’s a lot to ask, man. That’s a lot.”

So could conference championship games disappear altogether? Pollack’s take isn’t shared by everyone.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel believes there’s a world where both conference championship games and an expanded playoff can exist. How remains to be seen.

“I think that’s a conversation that’s going to continue to evolve right now,” Thamel said. “I just, my opinion is I don’t honestly think we’ll get there. I think it will go, there will be a conference championship game with guarantees and then there will be play-in games, if you will, on the others.

“And for the ACC and the Big 12, Jim Phillips in the ACC has been pretty open about creating extra inventory. And, look, in an era where everyone’s trying to squeeze out the last dollar, it would make sense to have two play-in games over one conference championship game. Just bottom line financials.”