{"id":29651,"date":"2022-07-29T22:48:51","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T22:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pac-12-commissioner-george-kliavkoff-bullish-on-expanded-college-football-playoff-potentially-before-2025\/"},"modified":"2022-07-29T22:48:51","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T22:48:51","slug":"pac-12-commissioner-george-kliavkoff-bullish-on-expanded-college-football-playoff-potentially-before-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pac-12-commissioner-george-kliavkoff-bullish-on-expanded-college-football-playoff-potentially-before-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff bullish on expanded College Football Playoff, potentially before 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"article-meta\"><span class=\"timestamp\" data-behavior=\"date_time\" data-date=\"2022-07-29T21:47:00Z\"><span class=\"time\" data-dateformat=\"time1\" data-showtimezone=\"true\">5:47 PM ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"authors\">\n<li>\n<p>Pete Thamel<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Heather Dinich<\/p>\n<div class=\"author-overlay\">Close<\/p>\n<div class=\"multi-authors\"><span class=\"source\">ESPN Senior Writer<\/span><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>  college football reporter\n<\/li>\n<li>  Joined ESPN.com in 2007\n<\/li>\n<li>  Graduate of Indiana University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>LOS ANGELES &#8212; Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff is so bullish on College Football Playoff expansion that he told ESPN on Friday he potentially sees the format changing before the current contracts ends following the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really confident that we&#8217;re going to expand the College Football Playoff,&#8221; Kliavkoff told ESPN.  &#8220;It actually wouldn&#8217;t surprise me once we agree on the format, if it happens before the end of the current term. Once you agree to the format, why wouldn&#8217;t you?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kliavkoff&#8217;s comments are counter to the notion populated by the College Football Playoff board of managers in February that the format would not expand until a new format is put in place for the 2026 season.  Others expressed skepticism at the timeline, considering that an expansion decision would need to be made in the upcoming months.  The next CFP meeting is in mid-August via Zoom, sources told ESPN, and there&#8217;s another planned a month later.<\/p>\n<p>Kliavkoff&#8217;s optimism is based on the tenor of the most recent CFP meeting in Park City, Utah, last month.  &#8220;[It was] the most productive CFP meeting I&#8217;ve been in.  I&#8217;m incredibly optimistic that we&#8217;re actually going to get there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<aside class=\"inline editorial float-r\" data-behavior=\"article_related\">\n<p>2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Can that lead to a new format before the end of the current contract?  That would require unanimous approval, which is always tricky in a room with so many dynamics and stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re closer than we ever have been to agreeing to a format,&#8221; Kliavkoff said.  &#8220;The lack of agreement about a format held us back from doing it quickly, as opposed to slowly.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I said it back when we originally met on this. Once you agree to a format, you can shoehorn that into the existing contract. If we agree on what it looks like past the existing contract, why wouldn&#8217;t you try and do it quicker?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In the fall, there was discussion about expanding the playoff field as early as 2024 or 2025, but the Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 ultimately voted against it in January and February for various reasons.  In order for it to still happen before the current, 12-year contract expires after the 2025 season, CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN, &#8220;many, many details would have to be worked out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;ll have to see,\u201d Hancock said.  &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot more talk ahead.&#8221;  Hancock said the commissioners haven&#8217;t talked about playoff expansion since June and the presidents and chancellors haven&#8217;t discussed it since May.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The board and the management committee will discuss the format when the time comes,&#8221; Hancock said.  &#8220;I do feel like the commissioners were more open to change and collaborative when they met in June than they were in February.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hancock said the June meeting didn&#8217;t include any talk about a potential 16-team format, and the conversation was more philosophical than it was &#8220;in the weeds&#8221; about a format.  The commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick initially liked the concept of rewarding the top four teams with a bye in the 12-team format &#8212; something that would be lost with a 16-team field.<\/p>\n<p>Swarbrick didn&#8217;t rule out the possibility of a sped-up timeline for a new CFP, but said it would be difficult to expand the field during the current contract.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think the calendar is the obstacle,&#8221; Swarbrick said.  &#8220;I can see the intent being there, but it&#8217;s not easy. It&#8217;s so dependent on the size of the playoff.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Swarbrick was one of the authors of the original 12-team proposal, along with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, outgoing Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson.  Swarbrick said the reason they favored 12 over 16 was because &#8220;we loved the byes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We loved how that rewarded teams,&#8221; he said, adding that any discussions he&#8217;s been a part of regarding a 16-team field to this point have been &#8220;very conceptual.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sankey was not immediately available for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Kliavkoff added that he hasn&#8217;t dove into the details on the impact of television contracts.  One of the likely steps in the next playoff, as it evolved from four teams, will be multiple television partners.  Right now, ESPN owns all the rights to the four-team playoff.  Fox would be the expected favorite to join ESPN in the bidding, as the CFP aims to potentially model its postseason after the NFL&#8217;s and have multiple rights holders.<\/p>\n<p>What that formally looks like still hasn&#8217;t been decided, but the notion of a potential 16-game playoff continues to be perpetuated.  Kliavkoff mentioned the dynamic in the room changing now that Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is expected to tamp down his demand for automatic qualifiers, one of the key stumbling blocks for the 12-team playoff.  He also mentioned one of the ACC&#8217;s issues &#8212; a 365-day calendar review &#8212; is underway and likely to be resolved.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m in favor of expanding the College Football Playoff,&#8221; Kliavkoff said.  &#8220;I don&#8217;t have issues between 12 and 16. I understand the arguments for and particular against.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8220;It&#8217;ll be interesting now that I think Kevin is backing away from his demand for automatic qualifiers. I&#8217;m willing to go into the room and listen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That 16-team idea likely brings with it calendar issues, as Swarbrick mentioned, and the likely debate of whether leagues would potentially eliminate their conference title games in favor of that weekend being reserved for the first weekend of the playoff.  That would likely require a lot of contractual gymnastics and financial accommodations for those whose league title games are worth the most money.<\/p>\n<p>But the idea, for example, of Ohio State playing Michigan to close the season, then playing USC in the league title game and embarking from there on a potential four-game playoff run is a daunting one.  Kliavkoff said he plans to continue to stump for the Rose Bowl, even in the wake of the Big Ten poaching two of the Pac-12&#8217;s most valuable brands.  The Rose Bowl has long been a contract between the Big Ten and Pac-12.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Three hours every three years for the Rose Bowl,&#8221; Kliavkoff said.  &#8220;We&#8217;re 100 percent committed. It&#8217;s important. It&#8217;s part of the history and tradition of college athletics. When we start throwing out traditions for money, that&#8217;s when we get ourselves in trouble. It&#8217;s not a big ask.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kliavkoff wouldn&#8217;t respond to the quotes from Warren from Big Ten media days that the two hadn&#8217;t spoken since the Big Ten broke the Alliance between three leagues by taking two of the Pac-12&#8217;s schools.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not talking about who I talked to and who I didn&#8217;t talk to,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5:47 PM ET Pete Thamel Heather Dinich Close ESPN Senior Writer college football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of Indiana University LOS ANGELES &#8212; Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff is so bullish on College Football Playoff expansion that he told ESPN on Friday he potentially sees the format changing before the current contracts ends following &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pac-12-commissioner-george-kliavkoff-bullish-on-expanded-college-football-playoff-potentially-before-2025\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff bullish on expanded College Football Playoff, potentially before 2025<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[1832,46],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29426,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/commissioner-george-kliavkoff-pac-12-steady-despite-usc-ucla-departures\/","url_meta":{"origin":29651,"position":0},"title":"Commissioner George Kliavkoff &#8212; Pac-12 steady despite USC, UCLA departures","date":"July 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"LOS ANGELES -- After weeks of speculation about the future of the Pac-12 in the wake of decisions from USC and UCLA to leave for the Big Ten, conference commissioner George Kliavkoff hit back at the assertion the league is on unstable ground.\"We are bullish about the Pac-12's future and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29001,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/bill-oram-big-ten-expansion-puts-pac-12-and-counterpunching-commissioner-george-kliavkoff-on-the-clock\/","url_meta":{"origin":29651,"position":1},"title":"Bill Oram: Big Ten expansion puts Pac-12 and counterpunching commissioner George Kliavkoff on the clock","date":"July 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon football is a mere 36 days from a trip into the teeth of the SEC to take on the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs. But the Ducks aren't the only ones on the clock.The Pac-12 is, too.On Friday, commissioner George Kliavkoff will make his first public remarks since USC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6409,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/can-pac-12-president-george-kliavkoff-save-college-football\/","url_meta":{"origin":29651,"position":2},"title":"Can Pac-12 president George Kliavkoff save college football?","date":"July 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"In his previous job as an executive with MGM Resorts, George Kliavkoff oversaw T-Mobile Arena and the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, which included staging nearly every major boxing match and UFC card in recent memory.So, presumably, the man knows about fights.Or he does now.Kliavkoff and his new employer,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30300,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pac-12-pressing-onward-despite-facing-unprecedented-instability\/","url_meta":{"origin":29651,"position":3},"title":"Pac-12 pressing onward despite facing unprecedented instability","date":"July 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 On Friday afternoon, from behind the buffet line at Pac-12 media day, an attendant watched as people in team-issued gear paraded through for two hours. A confused look crept across his face.Finally, the attendant leaned over the dish of chicken fajitas and, in a low whisper meant\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Pac-12 Conference commissioner George Kliavkoff speaks at Pac-12 NCAA college football media day.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.si.com\/.image\/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700\/MTkxMjUwOTg3Njg2NTY5NTA1\/george-kliavkoff.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32214,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pac-12-commissioner-on-usc-ucla-i-think-they-are-already-regretting-exit\/","url_meta":{"origin":29651,"position":4},"title":"Pac-12 commissioner on USC, UCLA: &#8216;I think they are already regretting&#8217; exit","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 It's been about a month since the news that USC and UCLA are bolting for the Big Ten, and the disappointment and anger toward the two LA schools from inside the Pac-12 haven't eased up much \u2014 if at all. \u201cIt's clear that UCLA and USC made\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29516,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/pac-12-media-day-2022-commissioner-george-kliavkoff-blasts-scared-big-12-as-his-league-explores-expansion\/","url_meta":{"origin":29651,"position":5},"title":"Pac-12 Media Day 2022: Commissioner George Kliavkoff blasts &#8216;scared&#8217; Big 12 as his league explores expansion","date":"July 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"LOS ANGELES \u2013 Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff found himself in one of the most unenviable jobs in sports on Friday, as he was asked at Pac-12 Media Day to answer for a conference facing its most crucial moment in its 107-year history. 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