Athletic directors representing the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference will meet next week in Nashville to discuss a possible partnership in football scheduling and their leagues' preferences in the next iteration of the College Football Playoff.
According to sources cited by Heather Dinich of ESPN, the meeting is a continuation of the Big Ten-SEC joint advisory group, which was formed in February and includes the leagues' university presidents, chancellors and athletic directors. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are scheduled to meet with the athletic directors for one day, Dinich reported.
Sources in both leagues told ESPN on Monday that a scheduling partnership could hinge on whether the SEC aggress to play nine conference games per season, as the Big Ten currently does. The leagues would prefer to have potentially four automatic bids each to the playoff when the next contract begins in 2026. CFP leaders haven't determined yet what the playoff will look like beyond this season and next, Dinich reported, adding that some said they need to know that before making any decisions about future scheduling partnerships.
"What’s at stake: the SEC and Big Ten further rigging the playoff in their favor, when they already have all the advantages," wrote Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated. "They don’t need to further manipulate the system, but they’re prepared to do it. And they’ve already been handed the power to make decisions for everyone."
The meeting is scheduled for Oct. 10.
"I'm for anything that gives us the maximum number of postseason opportunities," one SEC source told ESPN. "I don't count bowl games as postseason opportunities."
Some have also expressed interest in limiting the role of the 13-member selection committee — or eliminating it entirely, Dinich reported.
"I think anything we can do to take the subjectivity of a committee off the table is really helpful," the SEC source said. "We may not be able to completely get rid of subjectivity the more we can minimize it. And so Tony Petitti's idea of multiple automatic spots for a conference has a lot of value. I'm not sure four is the right number."
"Why would the rest of the leagues agree to such a strong-arm move?" Forde wrote for SI. "Because they clearly perceived a threat that the Big Ten and SEC could break away entirely, killing the sport as a national entity once and for all.
"So control was ceded. And now those two leagues will decide what’s best for everyone — meaning what’s best for themselves."
