Jim Phillips believes the expanded College Football Playoff is good for the sport — and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
As ACC Media Days got underway this week, the ACC Commissioner discussed the new 12-team playoff format, which, of course, is set to begin this fall.
“As the Commissioner of the ACC, I was at the table with my fellow colleagues as we hammered out the structure and logistics for the next two seasons,” Phillips said. “Beginning this year, the enhanced CFP provides opportunities for several ACC teams to annually earn a spot in the CFP field.
“To be sure, there are still details to be worked out with the CFP beyond the next two years, and I look forward to working collaboratively with my fellow commissioners. … The expanded CFP is a good thing for the ACC.”
The 12-team playoff format is set for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The field will feature the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, as determined by the CFP Selection Committee.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive first-round byes, with the fifth highest-ranked conference champion being seeded where it was ranked, or at No. 12 if its final ranking lands outside of the top 12.
“At the end of the day it’s a good thing for college football, it’s a good thing for those that play college football at the FBS level, and we’re at a 12-team event,” Phillips said.
The CFP contract is currently set to expire after the 2025 playoff, and while further playoff expansion to 14 teams is a future possibility, CFP leaders aren’t expected to decide on the format for 2026 and beyond until after the upcoming, first season of the 12-team format.
“I think it’s been intentional that we have not looked beyond these next two years until we have a chance to see how the 12-team format plays itself out,” Phillips said.
While Phillips is on board with the expansion to 12 teams, he isn’t ready to commit one way or another on potential further expansion.
“I think it’s really good as it relates to just more opportunities for student-athletes to play. My biggest issues were protection of the ACC and conference champions, and the health and safety and welfare of student-athletes if this ends up being a long season,” Phillips said.
“We’ll address whether we stay at 12 or go beyond. So it’s really speculation right now because, honestly, since we have met and declared it was a 12-team playoff, we’ve had no discussions about what a potential new format would look like.”
–Photo courtesy of Nell Redmond/ACC
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