CFP could reportedly decide on future expansion soon

The College Football Playoff could possibly consider expansion in a series of meetings over the next several weeks with some favoring a 12-team model according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel.

The management committee, which is comprised of the 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick, is expected to hear back from a working group during a series of meetings on June 17-18 in Chicago on the subject of expansion.

Any recommendation favored by the management committee would then be forwarded to the Playoff’s Board of Managers, which is comprised of 11 school presidents and chancellors from the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame, in a meeting on June 22 according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich.

The Board would make the final decision on any possible changes to the playoff model.

It was after a series of virtual meetings in April that the playoff group revealed that a working group had been considering 63 possibilities for change including 6-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 16-team options with a variety of scenarios for each.

Playoff executive director Bill Hancock warned against reading too much into the group’s findings.

“For the last couple of years, when I’ve been asked about it, I’m very careful to say that my bosses are talking about the future,” Hancock told the Orlando Sentinel at the time. “This really was an extension of that except for the first time we were able to give some color into what they were talking about.

“It’s just analyzing and thinking about the future. That’s all it is.”

“I want to make sure our position that the CFP should be expanded was clear even before my first day on the job,” new Pac12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said during his introductory remarks on May 13.

The Pac-12 hasn’t had a team qualify for the playoffs since 2016, with the league managing just two teams over the past seven seasons.

College athletics MARSHAWN LYNCH JOINS NINE OTHERS IN CAL’S LATEST ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS>>

Ten accomplished Golden Bear alumni have been elected into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame. Together, they represent the 35th class of inductees, and they will be enshrined the weekend of Oct. 29-30 in Berkeley.

The elite group includes football stars Justin Forsett and Marshawn Lynch, as well as multitime All-Americans, national players of the year, NCAA champions and Olympic gold medalists.

Those who have been chosen for the Hall of Fame are:

Sofie Andersson Aagard (women’s golf, 200406); Susie Babos (women’s tennis, 2005-08); Erin Cafaro (women’s rowing, 2003-06); Justin Forsett (football, 2004-07); Marshawn Lynch (football, 2004-06); Bill McClintock (men’s basketball, 195961); Xavier Nady (baseball, 1998-2000); Angie Pressey Forsett (volleyball, 200407); Kort Schubert (rugby, 1998-2002); Ashley Walker (women’s basketball, 200609).

Formal induction ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 29, at the annual Hall of Fame banquet. The new inductees will also be honored on the field during Cal’s Oct. 30 football game vs. Oregon State at Memorial Stadium.

Softball OKLAHOMA TOPS FLORIDA STATE 6-2, FORCES DECISIVE GAME 3 >>

Jocelyn Alo hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, and Oklahoma beat Florida State 6-2 to force a decisive Game 3 today for the Women’s College World Series title in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma (55-4) is seeking its fifth national championship. Florida State (4912-1) is trying for its second title in four years.

Alo, the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, sent Kathryn Sandercock’s

2-0 pitch over the right-center field fence, giving the Sooners a 3-2 lead.

The homer gave the Sooners the Division I single-season record for home runs with 159, breaking the mark Hawaii set in 2010.

Giselle Juarez pitched a complete game for Oklahoma. She gave up two runs in the first inning, then threw six shutout innings and allowed just two hits the rest of the way. She improved to 4-0 in the tournament and has surrendered just three earned runs in 24 1/3 innings.

Florida State’s Elizabeth Mason hit a two-run homer in the first, giving the Seminoles an early lead.

Basketball IGNITE SIGNS TOP PROSPECT >>

Jaden Hardy, the toprated high school guard in the country, has officially become the third five-star recruit to sign with the Walnut Creek-based NBA G League Ignite.

A month after the 6-foot-4 Hardy turned down college scholarship offers from Kentucky, Oregon, UCLA, Michigan and countless others, the former Coronado High of Henderson, Nev., star will lead a new wave of Ignite prospects who’ve skipped college to join the NBA’s developmental program.

Hardy joins power forward Michael Foster Jr. and guard Scoot Henderson as the five-star prospects who’ll comprise the core of the Ignite team, which will begin its second season as an alternative to playing in college or overseas for prospects.

Gymnastics HERNANDEZ, HURD NOT PART OF OLYMPIC TRIALS >>

Two-time Olympic medalist Laurie Hernandez and former world champion Morgan Hurd aren’t part of the 18 gymnasts who will be competing in the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles heads the list of gymnasts who qualified for the trials, which will be held in St. Louis from June 24-27.

Hernandez was forced to withdraw after she said she hyperextended her left knee during warm-ups on Friday on the first day of U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. Hurd, who was making a comeback from elbow surgery, was unable to capture the form that led to her winning the world all-around title in 2017.

NFL RAIDERS AGREE TO DEAL WITH CORNERBACK >>

The Las Vegas Raiders agreed to terms with cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson, his agency announced. Terms of the deal weren’t immediately released.

The 31-year-old WrehWilson spent the past five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He had a careerbest three interceptions in 15 games last season.

Soccer MLS TO MEET MEXICAN LEAGUE COUNTERPARTS IN ALL-STAR GAME >>

Major League Soccer’s All-Stars will meet their top Mexican league counterparts in Los Angeles on Aug. 25 in a game that was originally scheduled to take place last year but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The game against Liga MX players at Banc of California Stadium, home of Los Angeles FC of the MLS, represents a departure from the format for the past 15 All-Star games that had the best players in MLS facing European clubs.

U.S. ROUTS COSTA RICA TO BUSY STRETCH >> Brenden Aaronson scored in the eighth minute, Daryl Dike and Reggie Cannon added their first international goals, and the United States beat Costa Rica 4-0 in an exhibition in Sandy, Utah, to complete a grueling stretch of four games in 11 days.

Gio Reyna added a penalty kick in the 77th, three minutes after entering, in the last preparation match for most front-line American players before the pandemic-delayed start of World Cup qualifying in September.

The 20th-ranked U.S. improved 11-1-1 in its past 13 matches.