A subcommittee tasked with evaluating the future format of the College Football Playoff recommended on Thursday a drastic change that would broaden the bracket to 12 teams split evenly between conference champions and at-large bids.
Termed "the first step in a long process," the recommendation would bypass a simple doubling of the current four-team format and revolutionize the final stages of college football's race for the national championship, while raising concerns over whether such expansion would further dilute the stakes at play during the regular season.
The proposal came from the four-person expansion working group of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Mountain West commissioner Greg Thompson, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick.