Big 12 Coaches Vote to Support 24-Team College Football Playoff

Big 12 football coaches voted unanimously to support a 24-team College Football Playoff field after receiving a presentation from College Football Playoff staff at their annual spring meetings in Frisco, Texas. CBS Sports reported that the coaches became the fourth major group to hear from the playoff staff.

The session followed a meeting days earlier with SEC coaches that ran an hour past its scheduled 90 minutes.

Big 12 coaches listened without the friction reported at the SEC gathering and learned the playoff's selection criteria in detail. Houston coach Willie Fritz said a 24-team field would give late-season games more meaning. The coaches also received a model showing what last season's field would have looked like under the larger format.

That model projected five Big 12 teams in a 24-team playoff. In the current 12-team system, the conference placed only one team, No. 4 Texas Tech. CBS Sports reported that 15 of the 16 current Big 12 programs would have qualified at least once since 2014 under the expanded format, with Kansas the sole exception.

The average Big 12 team would have made three appearances, Oklahoma State six and Utah eight. Texas Tech would have been the only other program without multiple berths. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said the larger field would have placed five conference schools in last year's playoff.

He noted that expansion would require dropping the conference championship game, which remains valuable to the league. Fritz added that an extra conference game, such as moving to 10 league contests, could help more teams qualify. The conference indicated it would consider that step if the playoff expands.

The American Football Coaches Association has recommended a 24-team postseason. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti have both advocated for the change. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey continues to favor a 16-team field.

At the SEC meetings, coaches argued that the playoff committee had not sufficiently penalized No. 4 Texas Tech and No. 12 BYU for strength of schedule. The SEC secured four of the seven at-large bids in the 12-team field.

The remaining three went to No. 2 Ohio State, No. 5 Oregon and No. 10 Miami. The Big 12 has yet to receive an at-large bid under the current format. Only one of the seven SEC teams advanced to the national semifinals.

BYU finished the season at No. 12 with an 11-2 record, one spot ahead of 9-3 Texas and two ahead of 10-2 Vanderbilt. BYU ranked No. 8 in strength of record, the highest among teams in the top 15 by that measure.

When asked about the SEC criticism, BYU coach Kalani Sitake said teams on the bubble should have won more games.