Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany supports discussing 8-team playoff expansion: report

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who’s overseen the conference since 1989, told The Athletic that he would “definitely” like to discuss the possibility of expanding the College Football Playoff to eight teams.

His statement comes just a week after Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby offered a similar sentiment.

“The Big Ten would be happy to discuss structure issues with colleagues,” Delany told The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, in an article Tuesday morning. “It’s probably a good idea, given all of the conversations and noise around the issue, to have discussions with our colleagues.

“The Big Ten would definitely have conversations.”

It’s not surprising the Big Ten might favor a playoff expansion, or at least discussions surrounding one. The conference’s champ has missed the playoff the last three years, and the Big Ten has been shut out of the playoff altogether for the last two seasons.

Missing the playoff hasn’t exactly been a Big Ten-only problem either. In the five years of the playoff’s existence, the Pac-12 has made it just twice. The Big Ten and Big 12 have both made three appearances apiece.

“It’s an appropriate thing to begin thinking about,” Bowlsby told The Athletic last week, referring to playoff expansion.

Of course, the poster boy for increasing the playoff field might just be Central Florida, which hasn’t lost in 24 months but still hasn’t sniffed a playoff spot.

There is growing support for a playoff expansion and, although many see it as an inevitability, there’s no telling when one might happen. If an expansion were to occur, football would stretch longer into the spring semester and national title game teams would be forced to play as many as 16 games.

Then there’s the question about the new playoff setup, and whether conference champs would receive automatic bids. That could lead to more controversy, especially if a 9-4 Northwestern team with a Big Ten title were to make it in over an 11-1 Michigan. (Delany did recently say he’s open to discussing eliminating divisions, however.)

The road to playoff expansion isn’t a short and easy one but, based on Auerbach’s reporting, it looks as if conferences are open to starting that long trek soon.