A second meeting between Big Ten and SEC leaders didn’t result in major news, but it signaled potentially significant changes coming down the line.
Following the historic meeting between the two conferences in Nashville back in October, Big Ten and SEC athletic directors and conference leadership met in New Orleans Wednesday to discuss a variety of topics, including changes to the College Football Playoff — and, in the SEC’s case, whether to expand its own conference schedule.
While Wednesday’s outcome didn’t lead to any direct changes, it’s clear the Big Ten and SEC are continuing to make their case for a CFP takeover. Here’s what we learned.
Big Ten, SEC aligned on seeding changes
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey both expressed support for changing the CFP’s current seeding process. The two commissioners agreed that the CFP Rankings, not conference championships, should determine automatic first-round byes.
That conundrum came into play in the first year of the 12-team CFP when Boise State and Arizona State both received automatic byes into the quarterfinals despite being ranked behind multiple other teams in the field that had to play a first-round game, including eventual national champion Ohio State.
It is possible that desire for change could be reflected in the upcoming 2025 season, but it’ll require a unanimous vote. To this point, there has been considerable skepticism that conferences like the ACC and Big 12, which benefited this past season from the format, would willingly give away that advantage for nothing.
If the Big Ten and SEC can’t get it done for this year, it’s a good bet to go into effect in 2026 when the two conferences gain even greater control over the playoff format.
More automatic qualifiers coming?
Speaking of greater control, the conferences are again expected to push for multiple automatic qualifiers and an expanded playoff format. Sankey was mum on specifics Wednesday, saying he wanted to discuss the matter with the other commissioners first, but the expectation is that the Big Ten and SEC will try for four automatic bids each, while the Big 12 and ACC would get two each if the field expands to 14 or more teams.
This is a controversial stance and was shot down a year ago when the Big Ten pushed for it, but it feels almost inevitable if the Big Ten and SEC put the full might of their powers behind it. As CBS Sports reported in December, leaders within both conferences have serious concerns with the playoff selection committee’s ability to not only choose the best teams but seed them appropriately. That’s not a knock on the committee members themselves but the guidelines they operate off of which lead to inconsistency from year-to-year. The thinking goes that automatic qualifiers will do a better job of getting the best teams into the field and not penalize schools for playing a hard schedule. That was a hot talking point after three-loss SEC teams Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina were all left out of last year’s field.
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It’d also help with a potential Big Ten-SEC scheduling arrangement if marquee games like Alabama-Michigan, Ohio State-Texas, etc. are rewarded and not penalized.
Nine-game SEC schedule gains momentum
The annual hot topic at SEC spring meetings down in Destin seems to always be whether the conference will move to nine conference games or not. There were years when it looked to be gaining momentum only for it to fall apart when all the ADs and presidents got down to Florida. That could be the case yet again this year, but there are reasons to believe it could finally happen.
One is ESPN being willing to ante up more money for a ninth conference game. It’s long been a sticking point for any action — for years it hasn’t been worth the SEC’s while, according to sources — but there is increasing optimism that the numbers will be financially viable for a majority to get on board.
Secondly, if the Big Ten and SEC get their wish with automatic qualifiers and an expanded playoff field, the downside of a ninth conference game is diminished. More money doesn’t outweigh the risk of another difficult game on the schedule that could keep schools like Alabama or South Carolina out of the playoff, but if schools knew going in they’d have at least four spots guaranteed, there’d be less time wasted on comparing apples to oranges against schools from other conferences; instead, they’d focus on finishing in the top four within the SEC.
“I think there’s a lot of interest,” Sankey said according to ESPN. “People change, positions change … understanding the selection committee’s perspective and how the criteria is applied is an important element.”
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