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After Notre Dame CFP Snub, Commissioners Push Expansion as MOU Spurs Scheduling Threats

CFP leaders must settle 2026 format changes by Jan. 23 under an ESPN‑extended window.

Overview

  • ACC commissioner Jim Phillips called for enlarging the playoff, pointed to 16 teams as a likely target, and urged reevaluating the weekly ranking shows.
  • Conference commissioners met in Las Vegas without a deal, as the SEC and Big Ten remain far apart on automatic bids versus at‑large spots, leaving expansion for 2026 still in play.
  • Reports of a spring memorandum of understanding granting Notre Dame preferential access next season led multiple athletic directors to threaten future scheduling freezes, with Texas floated as a potential series cancellation.
  • Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark rebuked Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua’s conduct, while prominent analysts including Kirk Herbstreit and Paul Finebaum criticized the process and the Irish’s response.
  • The committee cited Miami’s Week 1 head‑to‑head win to justify the final ranking flip when both teams were idle, and Notre Dame has ended its season after declining bowl invitations.