Hopes for expansion remain in limbo

ARLINGTON, Texas — Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby says expanding the College Football Playoff as soon as the 2024 season is “in some jeopardy” if an agreement on a new format cannot be reached soon.

Speaking Saturday to reporters before the Big 12 championship game between No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Baylor, Bowlsby said expansion talks have slowed to the point where the chances of implementing a new format before the current 12-year agreement ends after the 2025 season are waning.

The CFP management committee, composed of 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director, met early this week in Dallas and could not reach consensus on a proposal to expand the playoff from four to 12 teams.

“Well, just for purely logistical reasons, year 11 (2024) is probably in some jeopardy at this point, just because there’s good and appropriate things you have to do in order to host the games,” Bowlsby said.

“I think it’s also a possibility that we wouldn’t be able to do it for year 12 (2025) and we’ll be talking about what we do in year 13 and beyond because you know, for all intents and purposes, the CFP goes away (after 2025). There is no operating agreement beyond 2025-26 and there are no contracts that bind us beyond ’25-26,” he said.

Currently, it takes consensus of all 11 members of the management committee to move forward on a playoff proposal that would still need approval from the university presidents and chancellors who oversee the CFP.

The next scheduled meeting of the commissioners and the presidents is around the national championship game in Indianapolis on Jan. 10, but the commissioners could convene again sooner.