In newest 12-team Playoff plan, all people wins. Let’s finish this silly standoff – The Athletic

It’s a small tweak. It would change the tip product as soon as each 10 years, and it could change it in a manner that might barely be perceptible to the general public watching. However the tweak additionally represents a compromise that might finish one of many stupidest standoffs in faculty soccer historical past. (Which is saying one thing, as a result of faculty soccer historical past is affected by silly standoffs.) If this compromise works, it could get everybody one thing they need and practically everybody all that they need — which is fairly superb so far as compromises go.

So what’s it? In the event you’ve been following The Athletic’s protection of Faculty Soccer Playoff enlargement talks, then you understand that Nicole Auerbach reported on Oct. 29 that FBS commissioners are considering a plan that might create a 12-team playoff wherein the 5 champions of the Energy 5 conferences and the highest-ranked champion of the Group of 5 conferences would be a part of six at-large groups. That is solely barely completely different than the 12-team plan proposed by the CFP enlargement subcommittee made up of Huge 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.

The distinction? The unique plan referred to as for the automated bids to go to the six highest-ranked convention champs whatever the autonomy standing conferred upon them by the NCAA. It was admittedly a extra elegant resolution that ignored main faculty soccer’s caste system and offered a greater likelihood for much less financially strong leagues to place groups within the CFP. And that plan may need gotten rammed by way of in time for a 2023 season begin had Oklahoma and Texas not determined to go away the Huge 12 for the SEC.