Who's the commissioner of the AAC to oppose a college football playoff expansion?

[Coach Andy Mac]

The powers that be in college football appear on the verge of a compromise that will move their playoff from four teams to 12 starting in 2024.

The plan starts with six automatic bids. One for each of the so-called Power Five conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — and one for the highest-ranked champion of the remaining five conferences, the so-called Group of Five. There would additionally be six at-large bids.

The top four seeds would get first-round byes. Seeds 5-8 would host 9-12 on their respective campuses, with the winners advancing. The playoff would create more access, more excitement, more interest in more regular season games and, of course, a lot more money.

Enter Mike Aresco, commissioner of the American Athletic Conference, who told the AP on Friday that he would “vigorously” oppose the expansion plan.

It’s not because it wouldn’t improve potential access for his league. It would. It’s not because it wouldn’t generate more money for his schools. It would. No, Aresco is upset that it sets aside auto bids for the five major conferences, no matter how good their champions are. He calls it “privilege.”

read more:  https://sports.yahoo.com/whos-the-commissioner-of-the-aac-to-oppose-a-college-football-playoff-expansion-231736356.html

[outoftown]

He is a man with power and conviction, that is who he is.

If he liked the original 6 conference champs proposition better than an enshrinement of P5 (and seriously does the new BIG12 deserve this?), then he can hold all of them hostage. Only privileged people could not see that Auto 5 certainty in getting in IS privilege.

And unlike the "journalist" here I disagree that this is a difference without distinction. The PAC12 would not have gotten in a team under these conditions several times.

And yes, the big conferences don't HAVE to provide anything...but then they too will be stuck at 4, with some of them not getting in e v e r y year. When is the last time the PAC12 got in. When is the next time the new BIG12 will get in. Without expansion they too will get left behind, so they will have to give in on this point. The ACC, SEC and B1G don't care about this, they will get in anyway. Arresco knows he has leverage, and he knows he will only have it now, before the decision. He is shrewd to play it now

Edited November 13, 2021 by outoftown

[wardly]

The objective of college football playoffs is to invite only the best teams, while college basketball invites  all conferences. If Cincinnati runs the table they still won't be invited because of strength of schedule. What the G5 conferences might consider is having their own playoff, which is probably what will happen when the P5 conferences peel off from the NCAA.