Big Ten, SEC must support all football, Big 12 commish says

ORLANDO, Fla. — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark reiterated his support for the 5+11 College Football Playoff model, saying Friday that even though the Big Ten and SEC are leading the discussions, those conferences have a “great responsibility” that goes with it.

Over the past several days, momentum has grown for an expanded 16-team playoff that would feature the top five conference champions as automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams, a model Yormark presented when the Power 4 commissioners met recently in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Another model that has been presented includes four automatic qualifiers each for the Big Ten and SEC, two each for the ACC and Big 12, and one for the top Group of 5 team. Both the Big 12 and ACC are against that model.

The Big Ten and SEC have the bulk of control over the playoff’s format in 2026 and beyond, something the other FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua agreed to last year when a new six-year deal for the CFP was announced.

“I think there’s real momentum for 5-11,” Yormark said at the conclusion of the Big 12 spring meetings. “Certainly, the public is voting yes for it, which I think is critically important. Yes, the Big Ten, the SEC are leading the discussions, but with leading those discussions, they have a great responsibility that goes with it, to do what’s right for college football and not to do anything that just benefits two conferences.

“I have a lot of faith in the process, and I think we’ll land in the right place.”

Yormark was asked why the Big 12 would be against a model that would guarantee two playoff spots for his conference.

“In talking to our ADs and coaches, we want to earn it on the field,” Yormark said. “The 5-11 might not be ideal for the conference, but it’s good for college football, and it’s what’s fair. We don’t want any gimmes. We want to earn it on the field. I feel very comfortable with that, and I feel the same way, and I’ve been very outspoken about it.”

Indeed, Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham, whose team made the CFP last season, said Thursday, “Every year is a new year. You never know who’s going to be good in college football, especially with the volatility with the portal. So anything that creates an open platform for teams like our guys last year to prove that they do belong, I’m in support of.”

He added, “Our coaches and our league want just the best teams, whoever those best teams are in college football that year, let’s have those best teams go and compete for a championship.”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes said the notion that conferences would get more than one automatic qualifier “doesn’t make any sense.”

“All anybody wants is to look up at the end of the year and see the best teams competing for a national championship,” Dykes said. “I don’t think that guaranteed bids does. That’s not how it works in pro football; that’s not how it works in any other sport. The AFC West gets four bids, and the NFC Central only two — that stuff doesn’t make any sense. It’s not good for the sport. I don’t think it’s good for the fans. It’s just not good for the game.”

Yormark said CFP leaders have until December to determine the future format. The FBS commissioners and Bevacqua are scheduled to meet June 18 in Asheville, North Carolina.

“We have some time now to work through the process,” Yormark said. “It is a process, but I do anticipate something getting done sooner than later.”

This is the second time in a week that Yormark has remarked about doing what is best for college football. After the commissioners agreed to move to a straight seeding model for the CFP, which will start in the 2025 season, Yormark said he hopes what’s best for college football is “the priority” moving forward. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips made similar remarks about his “responsibility” to the game.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey seemed to take umbrage with that, saying from SEC spring meetings earlier in the week, “I don’t need lectures from others about ‘good of the game.’ I don’t lecture others about good of the game.”

Asked for his response to that, Yormark said, “I agreed with Greg’s follow-up statement that I’d be entertained by it, and I was. We all have thick skin here. The neat thing about our relationship amongst the commissioners is we’re going to battle. That’s part of life. We’re going to agree to disagree. We’re kind of in that mode right now, but I have a lot of respect for my peers, and I know they have a lot of respect for me and Jim, and we’ll end up in the right place.”