At the Big 12 media days, commissioner Brett Yormark was very upfront about what the College Football Playoff expansion should look like. He continues to beat the drum of five automatic qualifiers with eleven at-large bids chosen by the College Football Playoff committee. He fired back at Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who is pushing for more automatic qualifiers, with four each going to the Big Ten and the SEC, and only two each for the Big 12 and ACC, and a small amount of at-large.
The commissioners of the Big Ten and Big 12 couldn’t be farther apart on what they think is best for the expanded CFP.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 12, 2025
The Big 12's Brett Yormark is doubling down on the 5+11 format, while the Big Ten's Tony Petitti wants four auto bids for his conference.
What they said ⬇️
Tony Petitti and Brett Yormark aren’t hiding their disagreement over the CFP’s expansion
Petitti joined CBS Sports' Joel Klatt a few weeks ago to talk about the College Football Playoff expansion and how a decision needs to be made by December 1. He believes the Big Ten and the SEC are due more bids than other conferences, and he doubts that increasing the committee's at-large choices will make a difference.
"“If you go to 16, and you have 11 at-large, you just added even more decision-making...We'll stipulate the committee does the best job they can. This is not to say the (committee) doesn't do a good job...They make incredibly difficult decisions based on data...When you start comparing teams that don't have a head to head and you have very little data to look at between leagues, that becomes really difficult.""Tony Petitti, Big Ten Commissioner
Brett Yormark thinks that's a terrible idea and was very clear to voice his disdain over it during the Big 12 media days. He called it a professional model like the NFL and thinks college football should act like college football. There's a reason it's different in his mind, and that conferences should be working for the good of all of football, not just their own conference. Which ironically is what Yormark is being accused of by advocating for the 5+11 model.
"“We have the responsibility to do what’s right for college football ... not what’s right for one or two or more conferences. I think 5-11 is fair. Earn it on the field, assuming we want to expand. I love the current format, but if we’re going to expand, let’s do it in a way that’s fair and equitable and gives everyone a chance.”"Brett Yormark, Big 12 Commissioner
The Big Ten and the SEC have yet to have their media days, and so there will be more expansion thoughts publicly broadcast as the dispute has come out in the open. It's hard to know how it will all shake out, but the December 1 deadline is looming.