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Big 12 Commissioner Announces League Consensus on Preferred College Football Playoff Model

Originally posted on Heartland College Sports
By Bryan Clinton | Last updated May 29, 2025 2:52 PM ET

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark made it clear Wednesday morning: the league isn’t budging on its preferred College Football Playoff format.

In a conversation with CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello, Yormark said he had a “great conversation” with Big 12 athletic directors and that they are “aligned on our preference” for the 5+11 model—a structure that includes automatic bids for the five highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large selections.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark tells @CBSSports he had a "great conversation" with the league's athletic directors this morning and they are "aligned on our preference" for a 5+11 CFP model.

Big 12 coaches will meet with Yormark on Thursday to discuss further.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) May 28, 2025

The statement reaffirms the Big 12’s resistance to the SEC/Big Ten-supported “4-4-2-2-1” model, which would guarantee four automatic bids to both the SEC and Big Ten while marginalizing the ACC, Big 12, Notre Dame, and the Group of Five.

Yormark’s comments come just days after a Big 12 athletic director told Yahoo Sports the league may have to “go to war” to defend access and equity in the postseason. The 5+11 format has backing from the ACC, Notre Dame, and many Group of Five voices, who view it as the only path to maintaining national relevance in a playoff era increasingly dominated by the sport’s two richest leagues.

Yormark will meet with Big 12 coaches Thursday as discussions around playoff access, governance reform, and the House settlement intensify.

Now, it’s standing its ground in the playoff debate—not just to protect its own future, but to preserve a system where more than two leagues get a real seat at the table.

This article first appeared on Heartland College Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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