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Group of 5 conferences could form own ‘tournament,’ per CFB insider
By Andrew Olson
Published:
College football’s postseason as the FBS level may not be done making changes.
On Tuesday, college football insider Heather Dinich of ESPN shared an interesting tidbit from the spring College Football Playoff meetings. Per Dinich, there is “buzz” about a G5 “tournament.”
There is some buzz here at the @CFBPlayoff spring meetings about the idea of a Group of 5 postseason tournament. It was discussed years ago but never gained traction. Retiring AAC commish Mike Aresco said he was always concerned it would “separate us from the big guys.”
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) April 23, 2024
The chatter comes as the CFP is changing to 12 teams starting with the upcoming postseason for the 2024 season. The format for the next 2 years is described as 5-7. The 5 highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed to be in the Playoff, with the next 7 spots going to the highest-ranked available at-large teams.
The CFP is set to feature “at least” 12 teams for 2026 and beyond, as the FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed to a new contract in March that paved the way for a massive media rights extension with ESPN. There have been talks of a 14-team format, with Power conferences being allotted multiple auto bids.
For the casual college football fan, it has been a bit dizzying to keep up with all moves just months removed from crowning Michigan the national champion in a 4-team Playoff.
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Reaction to Group of 5 tourney talk divided
Early reactions to the potential Group of 5 split showed two schools of thought. Some feel G5 conferences would be hurting themselves by having their teams compete for a separate championship. Others feel it’s long overdue.
Here’s a small sample of what is being said on social media:
Separate G5 playoff would be football’s equivalent of basketball’s NIT. Bad idea! https://t.co/IGmRBeMyGq
— ???? ?????? (@MikeFPrater) April 23, 2024
I know this isn’t a UCF concern anymore, but:
WHY would the G5 do this to itself?
Do you really think Boise State, Memphis etc would rather play a consolation tournament against each other instead of getting the 12 seed in the CFP?
The access is finally there https://t.co/DN6ByKrb09
— Christian Simmons (@ByCASimmons) April 23, 2024
Absolutely needs to happen. Should’ve happened already. Stop pretending South Alabama is chasing the same trophy as Alabama. Give those schools/teams/players their own playoff, their own championship. Will be great for the “student athlete experience” and will be great TV! https://t.co/Lef682QRY3
— Matt Wyatt (@RadioWyatt) April 23, 2024
?I pushed this idea/concept for a couple of years. IMO, it is a great idea. https://t.co/KokiXWNUtL
— Big Ten information. College football fan (@Genetics56) April 23, 2024
The Group of 5 conferences are getting their best shot in the CFP the next two seasons. The 5 conference champion spots and 7 at-large bids do not have conference labels attached.
For 2026 and beyond, however, there are strong indications the SEC and Big Ten want to make the CFP more Power-conference-oriented. Ross Dellenger’s Feb. 28 report revealed a model of 10 bids going to SEC (3), B1G (3), Big 12 (2) and ACC (2) teams, with 1 bid going to a Group of 5 conference champion and 3 at-large spots.
If Group of 5 conferences are looking at having just 1 of 14 teams in the CFP, a split for a separate tournament might pick up steam.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
