Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti mentioned the idea with members of the conference Wednesday, according to ESPN, though the idea is “in the very early stages.”
The ideas were talked internally among Big Ten athletic directors earlier this week and have yet to be socialized with the other FBS conferences.
Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported Petitti and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey held a preliminary call about the idea on Friday.
The Big Ten has been working on a super-sized potential CFP format that could at least double the current 12-team field and convert conference championship weekend into an expansive first round, according to multiple sources. pic.twitter.com/kEefC9FwTJ
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 16, 2025
The Big Ten has long supported a 16-team format with four automatic qualifiers for itself and the SEC, with two AQs for the Big 12 and ACC. The 16-team format is still under consideration by the Big Ten, a source said, but Petitti made it his purpose to explore further options after negotiations.
Under this model that adds 12-to-16 more teams for the FBS playoff structure, conference championship game will be eliminated, and the bid structure goes as follows under a 28-team format:
- SEC and Big Ten each get seven automatic-bids.
- The ACC and Big 12 receive five bids each.
- Two bids for the non-Power Four conference teams.
- Two bids to two at-large teams.
The proposed format would also eliminate conference championship games and would give out many auto bids to Power Four teams.
According to Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports, the size of the proposed field is far in excess of what has been discussed previously, an expansion from 12 to 16 teams. It would also give the College Football Playoff , which consisted of four teams just two years ago, more playoff teams than any of the major pro sports — even the NBA has only 20 if one includes the Play-in Tournament.
Indiana football is expected to follow up a breakout 2024 season with another trip to the College Football Playoff in 2025, after Curt Cignetti lead them to an 11-2 record in his first season.