INDIANAPOLIS — After all the disagreements, public wrangling and proposals, some finality could actually be achieved next week in expanding the College Football Playoff.
The CFP Management Committee (conference commissioners) could make a recommendation Monday to the CFP Board of Managers (school presidents) on how to move forward with expansion after meeting over the weekend. Those campus CEOs are the ones who will ultimately make the decision on whether to expand.
While there is no unanimity among the committee, ultimately, the only vote that matters is those presidents who would have to decide unanimously how to proceed.
“I expect we’ll be making a recommendation to the board, but it may not be unanimous, and they will deal with it as they see fit,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told CBS Sports.
So there’s hope? Hardly. It’s almost assured those commissioners will not be unanimous in a recommendation. So, what are the odds the presidents vote as one, some defying their own commissioners’ conclusions?
“I’m guessing most presidents aren’t going to want to vote against their commissioners, but you never know,” Bowlsby said.
That was a subtle way of saying the odds are long that expansion gets approved inside the current agreement with ESPN, which currently has four years remaining after Monday night’s CFP National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium.
That’s the discussion at this point: Not so much if the bracket will expand but when.
The committee will continue the discussion this weekend whether expansion will start with the 2024 season or after the current contract expires before the 2026 season begins. This weekend’s meetings are seen as a sort of drop-dead date on expanding the playoff before 2026.
One high-ranking CFP…
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