Big Ten, SEC discuss scheduling alliance, automatic bids to the College Football Playoff, according to report

Athletic directors from the Big Ten and SEC are scheduled to meet in Nashville, Tennessee, next week to discuss a potential scheduling alliance and their preference for automatic bids in future College Football Playoff formats, According to ESPN. This is a continuation of the partnership between the two giants of the conference Extends to Februarywhen the Big Ten and SEC began pushing for a 14-team playoff model when the next decade begins in 2026.

The two initially pushed for four automatic bids each, and will likely continue to fight for that, but the SEC and Big Ten have also faced a “3-3-2-2-1” model that guarantees three spots per conference, Including a first-round bye for each league’s champion. The Big 12 and ACC will each receive two automatic bids, with one guaranteed spot reserved for the top-ranked Group of Five champion. This will leave three at-large bids for the next highest-ranked teams that did not qualify for the automatic bid.

Talks slowed in June when the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame agreed to allow the 12-team model to play this season before further discussions about the future of the CFP, according to CBS Sports Dennis Dodd.

As for the scheduling agreement, any moves toward an alliance depend on whether or not the SEC adopts a nine-game conference schedule, according to ESPN. Since Big Ten schools already play nine conference opponents each year, some athletic directors could back out of the scheduling agreement if the SEC doesn’t follow suit.