The future of the College Football Playoff (CFP) remains uncertain, with the 12-team format set to persist into 2026— and here's where it gets controversial: the holdout between the SEC and Big Ten on expansion plans continues to block major changes. Recent reports indicate that the CFP management, citing sources familiar with the situation, was preparing to announce that the bracket size for the 2026 season would stay at 12 teams. This decision is a direct result of the ongoing deadlock between the two most powerful college sports conferences: the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big Ten.
This stalemate isn't new; it traces back to spring 2025, when the SEC withdrew from a proposal supported by the Big Ten that proposed multiple automatic bids allocated to each of the four major Power Five conferences. Since that rejection, hopes of expansion for the upcoming season seemed slim, and despite extra time allocated for negotiations—specifically, a seven-week extension from the initial December 1 deadline—both sides failed to reach an agreement.
On Thursday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti held their last call to discuss the CFP's future, but the discussions proved unfruitful. The debate over expansion has been ongoing well before the inaugural 12-team playoff was introduced in 2024. Meanwhile, a new financial and governance deal, effective this year, involves the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame. This contract guarantees that the SEC and Big Ten will share approximately 58% of the revenue generated and gives them control over decisions related to the playoff format. Although the other eight leagues and Notre Dame are to be consulted, the conflict between the SEC and Big Ten has prevented any consensus.
In terms of format preferences, the SEC favors a straightforward 16-team playoff with teams selected by their current committee-based ranking, similar to the existing system. Conversely, the Big Ten has proposed an ambitious 24-team playoff—though expanding beyond 16 teams would have required at least an additional year to implement. Big Ten Commissioner Petitti suggested a phased approach: expanding to 16 teams in 2026 with assurances from other conferences that they would aim for a 24-team setup by 2028 or 2029. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached, leading to the current scenario where the default option remains 12 teams, with ongoing discussions postponed for another cycle.
While the total number of playoff spots will hold steady for 2026, some format adjustments are on the horizon. In recent years, five of the 12 slots have been reserved for conference champions deemed top-ranked by the selection committee, regardless of league affiliation. This occasionally led to underdog teams from Group of 5 conferences—like Tulane from the American Athletic Conference and James Madison from the Sun Belt—earning bids, even when stronger teams from Power Five leagues were left out. Starting next year, however, conference champions from the Power Four (Power Five) leagues will receive automatic entries, with only one more spot available for the next-best-ranked champion from other leagues.
Additionally, the plan preserves seven at-large bids, and crucially, Notre Dame—regardless of its conference affiliation—will now secure a guaranteed spot if it ranks within the top 12 of the final committee rankings. In 2025, Notre Dame was ranked 11th but was ultimately excluded from the playoff because lower-ranked conference champions from Group of 5 schools took the available spots, highlighting the importance of these new rules.
Looking back to spring 2025, expansion beyond 12 teams was widely viewed as inevitable, with the Big Ten and SEC pushing proposals for larger fields and more automatic bids—aimed at reducing reliance on the subjective selection process. The Big Ten envisioned a 14 or 16-team setup that emphasized conference standings and potential play-in games to determine qualifiers, whereas the Big 12 and SEC preferred a 16-team model without multiple auto-bids, promoting a more open at-large selection process.
The Big 12 also proposed a more expansive 24-team format, one that would distribute auto-bids equally among the Power Five conferences and at-large spots, but it would have required the elimination of conference championship games—a move that made its implementation unlikely by 2026. Meanwhile, SEC officials, such as Mississippi State's President Mark Keenum, expressed skepticism about automatic qualifiers, favoring a more flexible approach.
Ultimately, discussions around a phased expansion plan surfaced, with the Big Ten proposing guaranteed inclusion of 16 teams for two seasons, in exchange for commitments towards future expansion plans. But the SEC remained unmoved, and the Big Ten hesitated to commit to a plan that could, effectively, lock in a specific size for the duration of the contract. With different conference schedules adopting nine-game rounds, some rationale existed to wait and see how the playoff selection process unfolded under the current 12-team structure.
As of the latest deadline, a final deal could not be struck—despite high-level negotiations—so college football will proceed into 2026 with the current 12-team playoff. The sport's landscape remains highly dynamic, and many questions remain: Should the playoff be expanded further, and if so, to what extent? Are automatic bids necessary, or do subjective at-large selections serve the best interests of the sport? Join the conversation and share your thoughts—do you believe the SEC and Big Ten should find common ground, or is the current deadlock signaling a deeper divide in college football?
