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MANHATTAN — The likelihood of a 24-team College Football Playoff appears to be increasing by the day after commissioners from the Big 12 and ACC recently voiced their support of the proposed model.
On3 reporter Brett McMurphy said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently told him that the expanded field is something they desire. The Big Ten has already voiced its desire for a 24-team field, while the SEC has pushed for a 16-team format.
“We like 24, we want 24,” Yormark told On3. “There are too many teams getting left out and 24 teams provides the type of access that is warranted. That being said, we need to do the work around the economics around a 24-team format and make sure we address any unintended consequences.”
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, in a recent sit-down with the Capital-Journal, echoed the commissioner's sentiment, saying he didn't believe many of the fears surrounding such expansion would come into fruition.
Such fears include a watered-down regular season. In fact, Taylor believes an expanded field could potentially make the regular season more exciting by creating better matchups earlier in the season when losses to good opponents won't be as detrimental.
"Right now, you gotta be 10-2 or maybe 9-3, and you might get in, maybe not," Taylor said. "Now, all of a sudden, you're 9-3, and you've played a really good schedule, and you have a chance of getting in."
What still needs to be solved is the shortfall that would result from potentially eliminating conference championship games. The American Football Coaches Association recently suggested a new calendar that would eliminate such games while moving the start of the College Football Playoff and expanding the field. The AFCA also proposed an earlier championship date, ending the season by the second Monday in January.
An expanded playoff format could make up for the loss of the money the league and schools would lose from eliminating a championship, as long as things are equal, Taylor said. Under the current 12-team format, the SEC and Big Ten take a larger share of revenue than those from the Big 12 and ACC.
"I think if we get 24 teams, that means there's probably a lot more equal numbers, and we gotta go back to equal revenue sharing," Taylor said. "The FCS did it a long time ago, and I think you can do it in a way that you could get the season done a little bit earlier than Jan. 25, but that's a bigger discussion because of TV partners, but I think a 24-team field makes a lot of sense."
In recent Kansas State history, the Wildcats would have had chances to make a 24-team field if such a format were in place.
The 2022 Big 12 Championship team would likely have earned a spot, whether as an automatic berth or an at-large bid. A lot more would have been at stake late in the 2023 season when the Wildcats lost a game to Iowa State, already having three losses on the year.
Going back further, Bill Snyder's Big 12 title teams in 2003 and 2012 would have been in, along with potential at-large bids in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2011 and 2014.
That would place Kansas State in nearly half of the hypothetical 24-team fields since 1993. It will be up to Collin Klein to take advantage of the expanded field whenever it inevitably comes.
"Just a couple of years ago, we were at four teams, and we said 'let's go to 12,' and as soon as it got to 12, it was 'let's talk about 16,'" Taylor said. "I think whatever number we get to, we just need to stick with it for a few years and see how it works. But I would be supportive of 24."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State AD supports Big 12 push for 24-team CFP
Continue reading...
On3 reporter Brett McMurphy said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently told him that the expanded field is something they desire. The Big Ten has already voiced its desire for a 24-team field, while the SEC has pushed for a 16-team format.
“We like 24, we want 24,” Yormark told On3. “There are too many teams getting left out and 24 teams provides the type of access that is warranted. That being said, we need to do the work around the economics around a 24-team format and make sure we address any unintended consequences.”
Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, in a recent sit-down with the Capital-Journal, echoed the commissioner's sentiment, saying he didn't believe many of the fears surrounding such expansion would come into fruition.
Such fears include a watered-down regular season. In fact, Taylor believes an expanded field could potentially make the regular season more exciting by creating better matchups earlier in the season when losses to good opponents won't be as detrimental.
"Right now, you gotta be 10-2 or maybe 9-3, and you might get in, maybe not," Taylor said. "Now, all of a sudden, you're 9-3, and you've played a really good schedule, and you have a chance of getting in."
What still needs to be solved is the shortfall that would result from potentially eliminating conference championship games. The American Football Coaches Association recently suggested a new calendar that would eliminate such games while moving the start of the College Football Playoff and expanding the field. The AFCA also proposed an earlier championship date, ending the season by the second Monday in January.
An expanded playoff format could make up for the loss of the money the league and schools would lose from eliminating a championship, as long as things are equal, Taylor said. Under the current 12-team format, the SEC and Big Ten take a larger share of revenue than those from the Big 12 and ACC.
"I think if we get 24 teams, that means there's probably a lot more equal numbers, and we gotta go back to equal revenue sharing," Taylor said. "The FCS did it a long time ago, and I think you can do it in a way that you could get the season done a little bit earlier than Jan. 25, but that's a bigger discussion because of TV partners, but I think a 24-team field makes a lot of sense."
In recent Kansas State history, the Wildcats would have had chances to make a 24-team field if such a format were in place.
The 2022 Big 12 Championship team would likely have earned a spot, whether as an automatic berth or an at-large bid. A lot more would have been at stake late in the 2023 season when the Wildcats lost a game to Iowa State, already having three losses on the year.
Going back further, Bill Snyder's Big 12 title teams in 2003 and 2012 would have been in, along with potential at-large bids in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2011 and 2014.
That would place Kansas State in nearly half of the hypothetical 24-team fields since 1993. It will be up to Collin Klein to take advantage of the expanded field whenever it inevitably comes.
"Just a couple of years ago, we were at four teams, and we said 'let's go to 12,' and as soon as it got to 12, it was 'let's talk about 16,'" Taylor said. "I think whatever number we get to, we just need to stick with it for a few years and see how it works. But I would be supportive of 24."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State AD supports Big 12 push for 24-team CFP
Continue reading...
