CFP leaders have a Dec. 1 deadline to inform their ESPN television partners of any format changes for next year. Kirby Lee / Imagn Images

Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, who heads the College Football Playoff oversight committee, said Friday that he is not optimistic about the CFP expanding from 12 to 16 teams next season and that the SEC would prefer a model with no automatic qualifiers.

In an interview on “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Mississippi State’s campus in Starkville, Keenum acknowledged — without giving specifics — that expansion talks among conference leaders have reached an impasse.

“I’m not very optimistic that we’ll get to it, but we’ll keep working on it,” Keenum said.

CFP leaders have a Dec. 1 deadline to inform their ESPN television partners of any format changes for next year, when a new six-year media rights contract kicks in with the network.

“…Not have Automatic bids. Thats the position of Southeastern Conference presidents, chancellors, our commissioner and prob most of the conferences that are part of CFP.”

MSST Pres. Mark Keenum chatting with me about the CFP & the BOM vote later this month. pic.twitter.com/fVey3bSAdv

— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) November 7, 2025

The CFP management committee — made up of 11 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director — spent months, dating to last year, considering expansion to 14 and then 16 teams. The Big Ten pushed for a model that would have each power conference receive multiple automatic bids, with the Big Ten and SEC each receiving four and the ACC and Big 12 each getting two.

The Big 12 then presented an alternative 16-team model during spring conference meetings, increasing the number of at-large bids from the current seven to 11 while still leaving room for the five highest-rated conference champions.

That model appealed to the SEC, but not the Big Ten. And there has been little movement since the summer.

The new CFP agreements give the Big Ten and SEC the final say over the format. With them unable to agree on how to expand, the alternative is to keep the playoff the way it is for the 2026 season, while still considering expansion options for future seasons.

“I’m not a big fan of automatic qualifiers,” Keenum said. “I think the best teams ought to play in our nation’s national tournament to determine who our national champion in college football is going to be. And not have automatic bids. And that’s the position of the Southeastern Conference presidents and chancellors, our commissioners and probably most of the conferences that are part of the CFP. We’re still negotiating.”

The Big Ten has floated an idea for a 24- or 28-team playoff that gives each power conference four automatic bids.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark expressed interest in expansion beyond 16, which would include an equal number of automatic qualifiers for each power conference. Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks also backed a 24-team playoff last month. Fox is the Big Ten’s main TV partner and holds no rights to the CFP.

“If we can work to expand it to include more schools, I love it,” Keenum said. “It just energizes college football through the regular season.”

Nov 8, 2025

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Ralph Russo is a Senior Writer for The Athletic, covering college football. Before joining The Athletic, he spent 20 years as the lead national college football writer for The Associated Press. He also previously worked as the AP’s Mississippi-based sports writer and did a stint with The Denver Post. Ralph is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Fordham University.