Big Ten's Petitti: No support for SEC's at-large bid preference for College Football Playoff
At the league's football media days, Tony Petitti said any change that adds at-large bids and increases the discretion and role of a selection committee — a format the SEC and others have shown a preference for — 'will have a difficult time getting support of the Big Ten.'
Petitti also bolstered the idea of a weekend's worth of conference play-in games for some of the four automatic bids that would go to the Big Ten in its preferred version of a 16-team playoff, even though the games could put some of the Big Ten's top-seeded teams in jeopardy of being shut out of the CFP.
The likely slate for that would include a league title game between Nos. 1 and 2 and play-in games involving the 3-6 seeds.
'There are 18 members in the Big Ten, you have 17 possible opponents and you play nine,' Petitti said. 'There's a lot of discrepancy. Let alone making comparisons across leagues, there's a lot of issues about how you compare teams inside the Big Ten. ... Where we came down is we were willing to take that risk.'
Though there is a Dec. 1 deadline for expanding the playoff for 2026, Petitti said he wouldn't put any deadline on it, echoing a sentiment SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey voiced earlier this month when he said the 12-team format, which went into effect last season, could stay in place until the two leagues agree on something new.
Petitti said recent meetings between Big Ten and SEC athletic directors have produced good results and he expects another such summit would do the same.
'The goal would be to bring people back together, have a conversation about what we think works, then kind of go from there,' he said.
The Big Ten and SEC will ultimately decide the new format, with input from the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences, along with Notre Dame and the six smaller conferences that are part of the system.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said his preference was a format with five automatic bids and the rest at-large.
'Fairness and access should also be part of the equation,' Phillips said Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina,, while backing the work of the selection committee that would have a bigger role with 11 at-large selections to sort through.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
23 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Bubba Wallace overcame questions and doubts to end 3-year drought with 1st Brickyard 400 win
Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bubba Wallace spent three long years questioning everything about his racing world. During a 100-race winless streak, he saw teammate Tyler Reddick win five times and post three top 10 finishes in NASCAR's final standings. Wallace also watched team co-owner Denny Hamlin make regular trips to victory lane while still chasing his elusive Cup title. The drought forced Wallace to contemplate what was wrong and whether he'd continue to be employed in racing — until he realized there was more to life than racing. Sunday's life-changing Brickyard 400 title only reinforced that notion. 'When Amanda and I first started dating, I was like 'Hey, racing everything, right?' I knew I made a mistake saying that,' Wallace said, referring to his wife Sunday night. 'It took me all these years to realize this isn't always going to be here. So I think it's better to enjoy moments like this, but nothing can overcome the joyful times you have with your family.' Those aren't just empty words, either. After celebrating with his crew, a jubilant Wallace hugged his wife and hoisted their 10-month-old son over his head, an image that may far outlive Wallace's reign as champion. His second family, other Cup drivers, also embraced Wallace following the biggest victory of his career. By becoming the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's historic 2.5-mile oval, Wallace also locked up his second playoff appearance. But long before Sunday, there were indications Wallace was turning things around. After posting just six top five finishes and 12 top 10s in his first five Cup seasons, Wallace broke through with five top fives and 10 top 10s in 2022 and 2023. Last year, he had career bests of six top fives and 14 top 10s. And he won one pole in each of those three seasons, too. He also won two qualifying races leading up to this year's Daytona 500, though those wins don't count in the Cup's official stats. Midway through last season, though, Hamlin noticed a change in Wallace. 'When I hired Bubba, I believed in his capability, not necessarily the results he had shown, but I understood his potential. And then there was a time where we were kind of wrestling with 'Do I want it worse than him? I can't make him want it,'" Hamlin said. 'It just seems like something happened mid last year — maybe related to having a child or whatever — but something happened where I saw a change in attitude that changed work for him.' It was a new perspective on life. Suddenly, Wallace had more to think about than just racing and it freed him up to alleviate some of the pressure he put on himself and the brutal self critiques. 'I'm a guy with a beautiful wife, a beautiful son and putting family first, that's all that matters and just fortunate enough to be driving race cars,' he said. 'That makes things easier, gives you something to kind of focus on, the racing stuff is kind of secondary now and you have to have a mental shift to say that.' But the philosophical change was only part of the equation. Crew chief Charles Denike, whose nine years in the U.S. Army showed him how to cope with pressure, added a calming influence on the radio. Wallace also started reading 'The Daily Stoic," a resource with exercises to help people cultivate wisdom and resilience. Fatherhood changed things, too. 'I've got the family here,' he said. 'Beck's win, officially his first race, and see his dad do it — get to victory lane — that brings me a lot of joy. Amanda's here, we lost our grandmother Friday night, so it's just kind of been a special weekend for us. Our family's here in Indiana, so this is really cool to be able to do.' Of course, Wallace still gets frustrated as he did Saturday when he missed capturing the Brickyard pole by a whisker in qualifying. But he managed to strike a balance between the disgust that used to seep in and the positivity of what he nearly accomplished. And it made a difference on the track Sunday and potentially off of it in the near future. 'There's a certain level of expectation to win and so, not doing that for almost three years, you really start to doubt yourself and wonder 'Is this it after the contract's up? Is this it?'' he said. 'I've still got a couple of years left, so hopefully this gives another year at least.' ___ AP auto racing: recommended Item 1 of 3
Fox Sports
23 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Bristol Motor Speedway game tops 85,000 in ticket sales, will break MLB attendance record
Associated Press BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — The Speedway Classic will break Major League Baseball's single-game, regular-season attendance record. The game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves, which will be played Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, already has sold more than 85,000 tickets. The first American or National League game ever played in Tennessee will eclipse the previous paid attendance record of 84,587, set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. The Speedway Classic will feature pregame pageantry from the U.S. Navy and a ceremonial first pitch between two Hall of Famers: Chipper Jones (Braves) to Johnny Bench (Reds). The game also will include a full day of musical performances, with Tim McGraw, Pitbull and Jake Owen taking the stage for their concerts. ___ AP MLB: recommended Item 1 of 1
USA Today
23 minutes ago
- USA Today
Where USA TODAY Sports ranks the Swamp in its top 25 college football stadium rankings
The college football offseason offers an opportunity to reflect on some of the more bird's-eye views of the sport as we await the start of the nation's favorite fall game. Among the more common queries focus on the quality of various schools' stadiums, which serve as something of a house of worship featuring a gridiron altar that fans pray at every Saturday (with exceptions, of course). Many of these locations are among the highest-capacity venues in the nation, which adds fuel to the fervent fire that burns from within during the autumn months. USA TODAY Sports writers Paul Myerberg and Blake Toppmeyer recently tried to tackle the topic by ranking the top 25 best college football stadiums in the country, which included the University of Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium among the top 10. Known throughout the land as "the Swamp," the Gators' home field came in at No. 9 in the rankings — behind the Alabama Crimson Tide's Bryant-Denny Stadium and ahead of the Texas A&M Aggies' Kyle Field. "As former coach Steve Spurrier aptly said, 'Only Gators get out alive' from The Swamp," they offer. "Florida has won 71.4% of its home games against SEC opponents the past 10 years, compared to 47.6% on the road in conference games. That's the definition of home-field advantage." Ranking the Swamp according to other opinions Oddly enough, Toppmeyer ranked Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the top football venue in the Southeastern Conference earlier this month. Despite this, Florida's home field is the fifth-highest ranked SEC location in the latest tally. On the other hand, Carter Bahns of 247Sports' assessment back in May — in which he ranked the top college football atmospheres — is in agreement with the latest assessment, also placing the Swamp at No. 9. USA TODAY Sports top 25 college football stadium rankings Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
