The head man at Boise State thinks the "system is created to keep you down" after the College Football Playoff changed how it seeds teams. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Boise State AD rips College Football Playoff for seeding change

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By James Parks | Last updated May 23, 2025 2:11 PM ET

While most college football fans welcomed the adoption of a straight-seeding model in the playoff rankings, not everybody was on board.

Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey, whose school benefited from the former system last year, called out the College Football Playoff for its decision to change it.

“Please call it the Boise State policy... Legacy is important... Would make us feel better,” Dickey said sarcastically in an X post directed at the CFP committee.

He added: ‘When the system is created to keep you down, you fight like hell to break it. Nothing to lose...”

.@CFBPlayoff, please call it the Boise State policy…legacy is important…would make us feel better.

When the system is created to keep you down, you fight like hell to break it. Nothing to lose…Always What’s Next! Believe in epic! 1-0! #BleedBlue https://t.co/1tRJhuJUXT
— Jeramiah Dickey (@JeramiahDickey) May 23, 2025

That system did well for Boise State last season, which finished as the No. 9 team in the College Football Playoff rankings, but was elevated to the No. 3 overall seed as a result of rules in place at the time.

SEC runner-up Texas was ranked No. 3 and Big Ten runner-up Penn State was ranked No. 4, but could not be seeded at those positions because those seeds were reserved for conference champions.

By finishing among the top four seeds, the Broncos earned a first-round bye, but under the new system, they would remain as the No. 9 seed to reflect their top 25 ranking, and not have had the luxury of that first round off.

Support for the so-called “straight seeding” model had been gaining momentum over the course of the offseason and was endorsed by leaders in the SEC and Big Ten when those two conferences held private talks, and more recently by ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.

And given the overt influence major leagues like the SEC and Big Ten have, and to a lesser extent the ACC, the trend was clearly moving in their direction, and at the expense of Group of Five hopefuls, from Dickey’s point of view.

College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark said the change in seeding was inspired by a wish to reward the best consistent on-field team performance during the year.

“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team Playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” Clark said in a statement.

“This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the Playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season.”