Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
- Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark supports a 5+11 playoff model for fairness.
- The model offers one guaranteed playoff spot per Power Four conference, plus at-large bids.
- Coaches favor earning playoff spots on-field; SEC coaches lean towards the 5+11 model.
ORLANDO — Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said he wants what is best for college football, even if it may come at the expense of the conference he's tasked to lead.
His conference could take the easy road and receive two automatic bids to a future College Football Playoff expansion — already doubling the guarantee the Big 12 receives in the current playoff model — but cede more power to the Big Ten and SEC.
It's a model known as 4-4-2-2-1+3 that would give the Big Ten and SEC four automatic bids each postseason, while giving the ACC and Big 12 two each. Additionally, it would give the top Group of Six team a bid and then provide three other at-large bids.
In the words of Jacopo in the movie "The Count of Monte Cristo": "How is this a bad plan?"
But giving sweeping guarantees to conferences — even if those two conferences feature some of the biggest brands and likely more playoff teams — is not what Yormark wants to see moving forward.
As such, he and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips recently introduced a new option called the 5+11 model, which gives each Power Four conference one team — presumably the conference champion — in the playoff, as well as one to the top Group of Six team selected by the playoff selection committee.
The other 11 teams would be at-large bids based on straight seeding in the final College Football Playoff selection committee's rankings.
"I want to reiterate our preference for a 5+11 format," Yormark said at the conclusion of the Big 12 spring meetings. "It's fair and it rewards performance."
He admitted, though, that the 5+11 model could come as a detriment to the Big 12, which would only be guaranteed one playoff bid each season.
"In talking to our ADs and coaches, we want to earn it on the field," Yormark reiterated. "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."
But Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, whose team earned a spot in last season's 12-team playoff, said he supports any plan that rewards teams for what they do that season and not for any other reason.
"Every year is a new year," Dillingham said. "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."
Added Kansas head coach Lance Leipold: "Each and every year should be a unique opportunity of its own. You get to earn your right on the field."
The 4-4-2-2-1+3 model, which was proposed by the Big Ten and SEC, was originally the most likely option to move forward, but other commissioners disagreed with the proposal, with the ACC and Big 12 even asking to amend to to give each of their conferences three teams — a 4-4-3-3-1+1 model.
The growing sentiment, however, has picked up momentum around the 5+11 model, with the SEC reportedly more in favor of that option following their spring meetings earlier this week.
According to Ross Dellinger of Yahoo! Sports, a "majority" of the SEC coaches "did not support the multiple automatic-qualifier playoff structure that had gained momentum with a large group of their administrators."
He added that the coaches weren't "completely aligned" but the room "wasn't split either," with the consensus being that they preferred the 5+11 model to what the conference originally presented in step with the Big Ten.
The Big Ten, however, hasn't made its position clear outside of wanting to keep its proposed format, especially if the SEC maintains an eight-game conference schedule.
The Power Four conference commissioners will talk virtually in the coming days before meeting in person in a few weeks to finalize an agreement, but the Big Ten and SEC have the controlling power after that right was signed away by every other FBS commissioner amid the latest conference realignment frenzy.
"We will look forward to continued dialog with them. ... I think there's real momentum for 5+11," Yormark said. "Certainly, the public is voting yes for it, which I think is critically important, and it's a very good sign.
"And yes, the Big Ten and the SEC are leading the discussions," he added, "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. And I have a lot of faith in the process, and I think we'll land in the right place."
Yormark said the next iteration of the playoffs do not have to be decided upon until December, but he expects "something getting done sooner than later."
"So effectively, we have now till then to vet through the concerns, the issues of any new format," he said. "There are some conferences that have some nuances around that date, other decisions that have to be made in advance of it, but the reality is, is we have some time now to work through the process, and it is a process."
Transfer portal changes
Amid the numerous topics discussed at the spring meetings was a desire to have one transfer portal window for college football to help ease the never-ending nature of roster changes while a season is still being played out.
The consensus window from the Big 12 coaches was for it to be held in January.
"As coaches, we unanimously support one portal window and that is in January," Leipold said. "We know it's a tough thing with calendars right now and where it goes. It's a chance to get your team settled, you're signing most you guys in December, you're going to know what your roster will be like to start the second semester, and you have the opportunity to work and develop and build those relationships, evaluate your team and get it ready for the next season."
Yormark said he will continue to "advocate for their position" as he meets with the other Power Four commissioners.
As it stands, there are two portal periods for football — one in mid-December when several teams are still competing and another in April for a shorter period of time. But the goal of the Big 12 coaches is to condense it to one period and after the season has concluded.
The tricky thing to work out with a January portal period is trying to enroll new players in time for spring football.
