Notre Dame athletic director supports 16-team playoff with 11 at-large teams
- - Notre Dame athletic director supports 16-team playoff with 11 at-large teams
Nick BrombergJuly 31, 2025 at 12:41 AM
The Big Ten’s College Football Playoff proposal isn’t finding many allies outside the conference.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua told the Athletic in an interview published Tuesday that he’s also against the conference’s idea for the Big Ten and the SEC to get more automatic bids to a 16-team playoff than any other conference. Bevacqua said that he’s in favor of the 5+11 format, where the top five conference champions and 11 at-large teams would fill out the playoff field if it expands to 16 teams.
“I happen to think that there should be automatic qualifiers for the Power 4 conference champions, and there should an automatic qualifier for the highest-rated G5 champion.” Bevacqua said. “But then, whether it’s 12, 14, or 16 (teams), I think you have to earn it on the field. And those should be at-large berths.
“I think that’s the best way, the most repeatable way, to get the very best teams to compete for a national championship year-in and year-out. And I think most people agree with that. Both the decision makers, the general public, football fans, I think that’s what people want to see.”
The Big Ten’s idea includes both it and the SEC getting four teams into the playoff every year while the ACC and Big 12 get two. The top group of five conference champion would also get into the playoff while the final three spots would be filled by at-large teams.
It’s not much of a surprise that Notre Dame would be against the Big Ten’s idea; it has a much easier path to the playoff with 11 at-large berths instead of three because the Fighting Irish aren’t in a conference. But Bevacqua’s sentiment is still important given the sway Notre Dame has in playoff discussions. The school has a seat at the table along with conference commissioners as the playoff’s future format is discussed.
The SEC and its coaches aren’t keen on the Big Ten’s idea and the Big 12 and ACC are staunchly against it. Yet, so far, the Big Ten and commissioner Tony Petitti are steadfast in their support for their idea. And that disagreement could ultimately delay expansion.
Since there's no agreement on a future format for the playoff, it could stay at 12 past the 2025 season if there isn’t a consensus regarding how it should look if it expands to 16. Petitti even admitted as much to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger last week. And given that the Big Ten's idea isn't getting much support, it's hard to see a 16-team playoff in 2026 without the conference — or the rest of college football — changing its mind.
Source: “AOL AOL Sports”
