Texas’s FRISCOIf the College Football Playoffs do grow from 12 to 16 teams as many anticipate after this season, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is reaffirming his desire to stick with just five automatic qualifiers rather than guaranteeing multiple berths for each of the four big conferences.
At the Big 12 football media days on Tuesday, Yormark stated that it is our duty to act in the best interests of college football, not just one, two, or more conferences. 5-11 is fair, in my opinion. If we wish to grow, earn it on the field. Although I adore the current structure, if we decide to grow, let’s do it in a way that is just and equal and allows everyone an opportunity.
Yormark thinks the 5-11 structure would be suitable for the present and the future, even though the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten will have more influence over the playoff format beginning in 2026 when ESPN’s $7.8 billion contract begins to take effect. In two weeks, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips is scheduled to share his sentiments during his league’s media days, he added.
According to Yormark, since we are not the NFL, we do not require a professional model. “We are college football and we must act like it.”
The top five conference winners are assured playoff berths in the 12-team structure that is currently in effect for this season. This year’s change is that the top four seeds that come with first-round byes are no longer assured for the top four highest-ranked champions.
Potential 16-team arrangements include two each for the Big 12 and ACC, as well as four automatic qualifiers from the SEC and Big Ten. Only Arizona State, the conference champion, advanced to the postseason in the Big 12 last season.
On the field, we want to earn it,” Yormark remarked. Given your remarks on automatic qualifiers, it might not be the ideal option for the Big 12 right now, but in the long run, given our investments and success, it’s the best format for us.
Going into his fourth year as Big 12 commissioner, Yormark thinks the historic NCAA House settlement will benefit all conferences, particularly if the College Sports Commission does what it is supposed to do in implementing the new system’s regulations.
It will. Regarding Bryan Seely, the former Major League Baseball executive appointed CEO of the new CSC, Yormark expressed his confidence in him. I’m not going to give up the fair playing field that it should provide.
When Yormark joined the Big 12 in 2022, it was already undergoing change and had ten teams. The next year, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joined the conference.
Last year, Texas and Oklahoma—two teams that had won football national titles in the Big 12—finalized their long-planned transition to the SEC. At that point, Pac-12 universities Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah joined the 16-team Big 12.
“I believe that equality is important, and eventually—and preferably sooner rather than later—a few of our schools will stand out as elite institutions that are constantly discussed at the highest levels. And we’re working toward it,” Yormark stated. However, equality and top-down competition are the first steps. And we’re there, I believe.
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