Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Big Ten commissioner continues to push back on Big 12's CFP format proposal

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 5:04 PM ET

Earlier this month, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark doubled down on his support for a new College Football Playoff format that would grant automatic qualifiers to five conference champions and feature 11 at-large spots — dubbed the "5+11" model.

On Monday, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti pulled the same card, though in favor of a different model that would grant four automatic qualifiers to the SEC and Big Ten and only two each to the ACC and Big 12.

The debate over what to do about the structure of college football's postseason continues to be the hottest topic of the offseason, and one that's growing the divide among the sport's most prominent leaders and officials.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports on Monday during Big Ten media days, Petitti said he wouldn't back off from his preferred format until the power conferences agree to play the same number of games. The Big Ten and Big 12 play nine conference games while the ACC and SEC play eight.

Petitti also said that any format with a bigger at-large pool — like a "5+11" model — would rely too heavily on a subjective selection committee.

"The Big Ten has been consistent in its strong preference for a playoff system that allocates spots based on conference standings, and the results of play-in games," Petitti said during his press conference at Big Ten media day in Las Vegas. "We want to better connect the regular season and the postseason."

"The playoff format should not function as a disincentive to schedule tough nonconference games. To be clear: formats that increase the discretion and role of the CFP selection committee will have a difficult time getting support from the Big Ten."

Petitti admitted the number of conference games a team plays shouldn't matter, but when it comes to awarding more at-large bids and granting the CFP selection committee more power, a team's schedule should be examined thoroughly.

"It’s really simple math,” Petitti said. “With 18 schools and nine conference (games), we’re losing nine more games to start. At the end of the day, I think it’s really relevant."

“So will we consider more at-larges? Right now, I think the first thing is to really understand what everybody is doing in their conference schedule."

Petitti's preferred format would secure four automatic bids to the SEC and Big Ten, two each to the ACC and Big 12, one to the highest-ranked non-power conference champion and three at-large selections.

Conversely, Yormark and his Big 12 constituents, including Utah director of athletics Mark Harlan, lean toward the "5+11" format.

"We continue to believe the 5+11 model proposed by the Big 12 and the ACC is the right playoff format for college football," Yormark said during Big 12 media days in Dallas earlier this month. "We want to earn it on the field."

"We do not need a professional model, because we are not the NFL. We are college football, and we must act like it."

The Big 12 comes off a 2024-25 campaign in which it struggled against the SEC and Big Ten, the two conferences that hold authority over any future postseason format. The Big 12 went 2-5 overall against the SEC, with its two victories coming over 2-10 Mississippi State and 7-6 Arkansas. Big 10 foes went 3-1 against the Big 12 in the regular season, though Kansas State earned the Big 12 a victory over the Big 10 in the postseason by taking down Rutgers, 44-41, in the Rate Bowl.

The Utes open their 2025 campaign against a Big Ten opponent on Aug. 30, when they take on UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

The CFP is moving to a straight-seeding model for the 2025 postseason.