"I’m open to 5-9 and 5-11": ACC Commish Jim Phillips gets real about latest College Football Playoff expansion debate

The College Football Playoff expansion has stirred considerable drama this offseason, with commissioners from different leagues expressing their views to benefit their teams ahead of the 2026 season. As the 2025 ACC media days kicked off in Charlotte, Commish Jim Phillips shared his take on the ongoing debate of whether the playoff needs to be expanded even more to 16 teams.

The veteran executive mentioned that he is entirely in sync with the latest proposals to expand the format to 14 or 16 teams, but only under one condition—fairness and access being the ultimate priority.

He mentioned that the selection committee rankings and the model should not be biased towards a particular league, but should provide equal opportunities.

NCAA Football: ACC Kickoff - Source: Imagn

“I think some of my comments have been public, relative to the CFP,” Phillips said to the reporters on Tuesday at ACC media days.

“I’ve always believed in rewarding conference champions. And if you are in a really good conference – like we have across the P4 – and you’re also part of the G6, conference championships matter. And that’s been consistent in my five years, that they should be rewarded. Fairness and access should also be part of the equation.

He also credited the current 12-team playoff format that allows more teams to contend for the national championship; however, last season's bracket appeared somewhat imbalanced. This triggered considerable debate about the future of extended playoff formats.

"We have a really good Playoff right now. It’s the 5-and-7 model. I’m open to 5-9 and 5-11. I always look to our championships to try to have as much access as possible within reason. It has to make sense,” he added.

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College Football Playoff in 2025 will be a 12-team format

The ongoing debate over an extended playoff format will only come to fruition in 2026, with a deadline to finalize a model set for December. Following the AD and head coaches' meeting earlier this spring, it was decided that the 2025 format will continue to feature 12 teams; however, the conference champions will no longer receive a first-round bye.

Although the five conference champions will earn a playoff spot, the first four spots will be filled as per the selection committee rankings. This provides more flexibility for SEC and Big Ten teams to make a strong impression on the selection committee, given their challenging schedules.

Expect the current format to expand to 16 teams soon, as nearly all commissioners agree on adding more teams to the current setup.