SEC Pushing for 24-Team College Football Playoff, Stricter Qualifying Rules

Sep 03, 2026 at 01:56 PM EDT

The College Football Playoff field could be heading toward an even more expanded field.

In January of this year, commissioners of the ACC and Big 12, as well as Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, expressed their support for a 24-team playoff model. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey initially expressed reservations with the idea, but is now apparently willing to make the move providing certain requirements are met, according to a recent report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.

Sankey sent a message to CFP Management Committee this past week, outlining his priorities if the playoff field were to expand. The most significant proposed requirement is each qualifying team would have to play at least 10 games against power league competition in order to be eligible for the CFP field.

Dellenger's report indicates that many SEC coaches and athletic directors are publicly and privately in support of the expanded playoff.

"While Sankey and some of his presidents have expressed reservations and concerns over a 24-team field, many of the SEC's coaches and athletic directors publicly, and certainly privately, support such a model," Dellenger writes.

The biggest concern with this proposed model is its effect on Group of 6 teams, who often have a difficult time scheduling games against power competition.

"How this impacts the Group of 6 programs is unclear," Dellenger reports. "The proposed requirement of 10 'qualifying events' does include conference games (as well as games against Notre Dame), but further conversation is necessary as G6 programs often find difficult scheduling A4 competition."