College Football Playoff Director Issues Statement After Meeting About Expansion

The commissioners were unable to reach an agreement.

After commissioners held a College Football Playoff meeting Wednesday in Dallas to discuss possible Playoff expansion, the group was unable to reach an agreement. Bill Hancock, executive director of the Playoff, released a statement following the meeting. 

"We continue to make progress, but a variety of issues remain," he said in the release. "The commissioners will meet again to see if the remaining items can be settled. The possibility of expansion is complicated and has multiple issues associated with it. Given the importance of the matter and our desire to achieve as much consensus as possible, we will continue our meetings to see if the differences that exist can be narrowed."

More CFP talks left. No decision pic.twitter.com/WxmuKmFIzi

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 1, 2021

Hancock added that there's no set date for a follow-up meeting but it will likely be in early January around the national title game. Before the meeting, one source told Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger that the decision to stay at four teams or expand to 12 was a "coin flip." However, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said after the meeting that an eight-team model is still alive. 

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said he was against an eight-team playoff with automatic qualifiers. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said "I think 12 is good for college football."

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College football's calendar, bowl involvement and team selection all remain issues as the group continues to find common ground to make a decision. 

"There remains strong consensus that expansion is desirable, whether it begins early, or possibly not until the 2025–2026 season is over," Hancock said in the release. "The precise details of how it can be best achieved remain to be settled. We will continue to work at it."

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