CFP board chair shares details of expansion vote, biggest obstacles

The College Football Playoff announced Friday that expansion will not happen until at least 2026, disappointing many fans. Mississippi State President Mark Keenum is the CFP board chair. In conversations with Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, Keenum detailed why expansion is being put off.

Keenum called automatic qualification for Power 5 champions the “biggest obstacle.” The Big Ten specifically wants an automatic bid for its champion.

Mark Keenum suggests that the biggest obstacle in expansion is some leagues (namely the B1G) wanting AQs for P5 champions.

Despite representing a P5 conference (SEC), Keenum called that proposal unfair.

“That is a real sticking point. I don’t know how we get it resolved. “

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 18, 2022

Automatic qualification wasn’t the only issue. Keenum shared that conferences are divided when it comes to 8 or 12 teams and some disagreements over the number of extra games added to the CFB season. The Rose Bowl’s calendar commitment also presents an issue if it is to be part of an expanded CFP. Keenum said it came down to an 8-3 vote with the ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 “Alliance” all voting against expansion.

Keenum says 3 obstacles prevented expansion:

– format (8v12; AQs)
– # of xtra games

And… Rose Bowl.

“We’ve got a bowl with a keen interest in preserving their date & time. That’s part of the negotiating package with a media provider. Does that add value or cost value for CFP?”

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 18, 2022

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic pointed out that while the CFP’s announcement was Friday, the 8-3 vote was in January.

The vote on CFP expansion — which needed to be 11-0 in order to change the format prior to 2026 — was indeed an 8-3 vote last month, a source told @TheAthletic. ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 voted against it. CFP board chair Mark Keenum confirmed this to @SInow today.

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) February 18, 2022