ORLANDO — As the college football world awaits a final decision on the future format of the expanded College Football Playoff, the Big 12 is making its stance clear.
During spring meetings held this week at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, conference leaders reiterated their support for the "5+11" model, a proposed 16-team playoff that would include the top five conference champions as automatic qualifiers along with 11 at-large selections.
With the playoff set to expand in 2026, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said the conference has spent the week rallying behind that plan.
"We're pushing 5 and 11. We have all week," Yormark said Friday. "I was also glad to hear that the SEC coaches supported that format, which is critically important."
Yormark serves on the CFP management committee, which includes representatives from all 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame. But with the Big Ten and SEC consolidating power in the next phase of college football's realignment era, the two leagues are holding significant sway over what the future format looks like.
The Big Ten has floated an alternate model that would grant four automatic bids each to itself and the SEC, with two bids to both the ACC and Big 12, and one reserved for the top Group of Five champion. While SEC administrators have expressed interest in that model, several league coaches pushed back on it this week during the SEC's own spring meetings in Destin.
Yormark says the Big 12, along with the ACC, has no interest in a setup that rewards conferences with multiple automatic bids.
"In talking to our ADs and coaches, we want to earn it on the field," Yormark said. "The 5 plus 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 gimmies. That was the direction of the key stakeholder group — the ADs and the coaches. I feel very comfortable with that. I feel the same way and I've been very outspoken about it."
Yormark said Big 12 leadership recently met with their counterparts from the Big Ten and SEC to present a series of options, including fallback ideas in the event the four-conference AQ model gains traction, but reaffirmed that the 5+11 format remains their top choice.
"Yes, the Big Ten and the SEC are leading the discussions," Yormark said. "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."
UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir, who served on the CFP selection committee from 2019 to 2021, echoed that sentiment.
"We like the 5 plus 11," Mohajir said. "Having been on the selection committee, we have a lot of really talented people that are on there. Despite what people may think, I don't think there's as much brand loyalty. I think people try to pick the best teams."
Mohajir believes the 5+11 model strikes the right balance, rewarding conference champions while still allowing a deep pool of at-large teams, which benefits every league, including the Big Ten and SEC.
"You could have a 7-5 Big Ten team play in the playoff with the fourth AQ. I don't think that's right," Mohajir said. "Have 11 at-large, the selection committee can pick it. You reward the four conference championships, and then you have the best Group of Five team. I think it's the most fair way to do it."
He also pushed back on the idea that the CFP's future should revolve around creating guaranteed access for only a few power conferences.
"The way the construct of the CFP wasn't to give one or two conferences more value," Mohajir added. "It was supposed to be the best way to conduct a real national championship. And I think the 5 plus 11 is the best way to do that. It gets the best teams in."
UCF head coach Scott Frost, who led the Knights to an undefeated season in 2017 before returning to the program this offseason, said he’s always believed in a format that values winning and on-field performance above all.
"I'm just a traditionalist, I guess, and I think you play your way into anything," Frost said. "Ideally, in my opinion, you have the conference winners who probably deserve to be in, and then it's probably the next best 11 teams."
Frost noted that a 16-team playoff could have changed the postseason outlook for some of his past teams. Under the current playoff structure, his 2017 UCF team would have made the playoff as the top Group of Five team. The Knights were ranked No. 12 in the final CFP poll.
"I would have loved that a few times in my career when I think we had a good enough team to be in a top 16," he said. "I think there are smart enough football people out there that can judge that."
As the debate continues, the key stakeholders — the FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua — are scheduled to meet in person June 18 in Asheville, North Carolina. A final decision on the new format must be made by Dec. 1.
Until then, Yormark and the Big 12 will keep pushing for what they believe is the fairest path forward.
"I have a lot of faith in the process and I think we’ll land in the right place," Yormark said. "Certainly, the public is voting yes for it, which I think is critically important. It’s a very good sign."
