Slices of Tuna: Tony Petitti on a 24-team CFP
The Big Ten commissioner goes 1-on-1 with The Inside Zone about his, and most of the nation's, preferred CFP format
FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua are scheduled to meet Monday in Dallas for College Football Playoff meetings.
Ahead of that gathering, The Inside Zone checks in with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti to talk a little more in-depth on the proposed 24-team system.
1. Origins of a 24-team CFP proposal
A year ago, Tony Petitti sat down with The Inside Zone and went long on the origins of an expanded CFP model — then the 4-4-2-2-1 format — that threatened to flip the sport on its head.
Public backlash had been strong. The Big Ten commissioner had gotten behind the proposal earlier from the podium at his conference’s media days in Las Vegas, and reaction around the sport was largely negative.
Remember, that proposal featured four guaranteed berths apiece to the Big Ten and SEC, with just two apiece for the ACC and Big 12.
Fast forward to this year, and there’s a new preferred postseason format — with the rest of the sport, by and large, supportive of the proposed change.
Petitti spoke with The Inside Zone to discuss the mechanics of a 24-team CFP, a model that was met with eyerolls when it first publicly surfaced in the winter, but one that has slowly but surely been embraced by every power conference this side of the SEC.
