Brett Yormark Pressures SEC/Big Ten to 'Do What's Right for College Football'

The College Football Playoff is likely to expand once again, going from 12 teams to 16. The problem? Conference commissioners can't agree on the format.

The Big Ten and SEC are pushing for a 4-4-2-2-1 format, meaning the Big Ten and SEC would each receive four automatic bids, the Big 12 and ACC would receive two, and the highest-ranked Group of Six champ would receive one.

That format only makes sense for those in those two leagues or fans of schools in the Big Ten/SEC. Why should any conference be gifted more than one auto bid? Four, though? That's ludicrous.

All it does is shift the power to two leagues, creating an unfair balance in college football. While they may play more challenging schedules on paper, there's no way of telling which conferences will be good this year, next year, or five years from now. It also creates an unfair advantage on the recruiting trail for those schools because they have more access to the playoff.

There isn't a single sports league in America that caters to a specific conference in regard to the playoffs. Not one. So why do it in college football?

The Big 12 and ACC are pushing for a 5-11 format, which would grant an auto bid to each Power Four champion and the highest-ranked Group of Six champ, leaving 11 at-large bids on the table. This ensures you get the best 16 teams in the field and not have it become the SEC/Big 10 invitational.

"I think there's real momentum for 5-11," Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said at the Big 12 spring meetings. "Certainly, the public is voting yes for it, which I think is critically important. Yes, the Big Ten, the SEC are leading the discussions, but with leading those discussions, they have a great responsibility that goes with it, to do what's right for college football and not to do anything that just benefits two conferences.

"In talking to our ADs and coaches, we want to earn it on the field. The 5-11 might not be ideal for the conference, but it's good for college football, and it's what's fair. We don't want any gimmes. We want to earn it on the field. I feel very comfortable with that, and I feel the same way, and I've been very outspoken about it."

Discussion between the commissioners will continue this summer.

MORE STORIES FROM WEST VIRGINIA ON SI

West Virginia Great Gives Some Insight on One of West Virginia's Transfer Pickups

In the Gun Podcast: WVU Football Trivia with Julian Miller

Package Deal? High School Teammates Considering WVU to Announce Commitment Together

West Virginia Trolls SEC Slogan After Beating Kentucky