Brett Yormark wants to be greedy on behalf of the Big 12.
His ideas on the College Football Playoff and possible expansion of the field from 12 teams to potentially even 24, and whether or not that is good for the rest of college football, don’t matter.
He’s focused on one thing and one thing only, and that’s being the commissioner of the Big 12. That means getting his programs more bites at the apple, so of course, he’s open to the potential expansion of the CFP.
How can the Big 12 get more automatic qualifiers? That’s the biggest question he’s trying to answer.
Yormark discussed that idea at length on Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days, and he prefers the idea of just “going for it” rather than a gradual increase of the number of teams in the CFP.
“I liked 16 initially,” Yormark said, according to On3. “As I learned more about it, obviously, without the additional AQs, when 24 became part of the conversation, we’ve done our own conference due diligence around it, and we think it might be a great fit for us. We discussed it most recently in our spring business meeting with our coaches across the board. They liked it, and we continue to have those conversations with our ADs and our presidents.”
Big 12 is open to expanding the CFP from 12 teams to 24
Expansion from 12 to 24 programs in the CFP would certainly throw a wrench into the scheduling of the season. The 12-team CFP has already effectively made the conference championship games somewhat irrelevant as it relates to making the dance.
Yes, the conference champion of each of the major conferences gets an automatic qualifier, but if we’re just handing those out willy-nilly, what’s the point of a CFP-bound team even risking it on conference championship weekend?
An expansion from 12 teams to 24 could essentially kill conference title games, and that’s still a big deal for the Big 12. Of course, money runs the world, so if it makes more sense money-wise to do so, Yormark will point his conference in that direction.
“We do need to understand the economics,” he explained. “Is there a marketplace to go to 24? We have to understand the scheduling dynamic and what that means, and the unintended consequences, which I said earlier, as it relates to our championship game. I think I’ve said it before, that’s a huge tentpole event for us. I mean, we had over 85,000 attend last year, and our ratings were up 39%. It’s a big deal for us, and there are economics that go with that championship game.”
Yormark did say that everything is on the table as far as the Big 12 is concerned, but as mentioned, he’s going to do what is in the best interest of his conference.
He has to do everything he can to keep the Big 12 in the conversation with the SEC and Big Ten. Right now, even with the Big 12 adding multiple new programs and filling out its “depth,” the Big 12 and ACC are clearly the second class of the Power Four.
More access to the CFP could help the Big 12 even the scales a bit, so that’s what Yormark is pushing for.
“I’m a firm believer in that,” he said of getting his conference more guaranteed seats at the CFP table. “The Big 12 is a firm believer in that. Where that takes us, I can’t tell you today. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I want more access, and I think that’s the right thing for us to consider. And we’re doing the appropriate due diligence right now.”
