Overview
- College Football Playoff leaders ended Miami meetings without a decision, with Big Ten chief Tony Petitti saying there is still more work to do.
- The Big Ten continues to seek a path to a 24-team bracket, while the SEC favors 16 teams and has resisted committing now to a later jump to 24.
- Multiple leagues back a 16-team field for 2026, but Petitti wants a written transition to 24 within a few years, a condition sources say the SEC has not accepted.
- A memorandum of understanding gives Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey effective control over format changes, making their agreement essential.
- A 24-team model could require ending conference championship games and shifting December dates such as Army–Navy, which President Trump vowed to protect with an executive order.