July 14, 2025 • 11 mins
Rich Clark, the Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, joined Craig Way, Cameron Parker, and Mike Hardge at the SEC Media Days to discuss the future of playoff expansion. They discussed the possible models, 14 or 16 teams, and the timeline.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What a way to kick off our time here at
SEC Football Media Days with the executive director of the
College Football Playoff, Rich Clark, who's with us. Rich joined
us last year. I believe it was on Halloween that
you joined us.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Last year.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We talked about it's great to have you with us.
I appreciate you doing this, and I know, just as
coaches and fans and media get pretty amped up about
this when you have these signposts of this, I know
you must as well, since it's the opening of a
new folder heading into twenty twenty five and ultimately what
we'll head down the road to what you are the
(00:33):
head of the College Football Playoff.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, Craig, First, thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I appreciate being here with you again, and I am
really excited to be at this sign post. It is
it's a marker that's really marking my second year. So
I just completed my first year and it was it
was incredible. One thing we knew, though one hundred percent
for sure, that we weren't going to get at one
(00:58):
hundred percent right. And so we've made some changes for
next year going into this coming season, and then we're
talking with the commissioners and the Management Committee as we
call them, about changes that might occur in the season
after this coming one. But it is such an honor
to be involved in this whole enterprise, and it's just exciting.
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I'm really intrigued by something both the commissioner said and
what you just said about You knew going in it
wasn't going to be a perfect fit, and yet by
and large, I think everybody thought it came off really
really well.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
For the first time ever with the twelve teams.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I thought it was too I mean it the first round,
those home games, those campus games spectacular. I went to
Notre Dame and Ohio State and those games were like
nothing I've ever seen, amazing. And then the quarters and
semis at the Bowls. Our bull partners did a fantastic
job putting those games on. And then right here in
(01:54):
Atlanta we had our championship games. So I couldn't have
been happier with the way the games came off. But
we did change the way that we're seating and that
was a big That's gonna be a make a big difference,
I think in the playoffs. So instead of giving the
bye to the top four conference champions, we're gonna give
a bye to the top four ranked teams. I think
(02:16):
that's a better look for the bracket and it's gonna
give us, I would say, more competitive games from the
start to the finish of the playoff. I love the
fact that you were able to make that adjustment because
of the things that happened.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Along the way.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
You know, when when all these new situations arise, you
got to be able to adjust and make the change.
And now with the playoff and the way that it's
being set up, adding more teams to it. But I
do like the fact that you guys decided, Hey, what
we're gonna do is the top ranked teams are gonna
be the ones to get seating. Well, how did y'all
come to that that mindset? Yeah, Mike, I give a
(02:53):
lot of credit to the commissioners. You know, they watched closely.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
They listened to their coaches, they listened to their athletic directors,
they listen to the fans. We all do cant help it,
but there was a lot of good feedback on that,
and we all saw it right. We could see how
the how the bracket lined up, and that I think
was I won't say it was an easy decision to
make because it's a change. Like you said, Mike, you
(03:20):
know you're doing it as you go, you're recognizing it.
But you want to make that change early, especially if
you know you're gonna do it. Don't let's not wait,
let's not delay. This is the right thing to do.
And the commissioner stepped up and did it.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
It's not also, and part of the feedback you got
was folks get hung up on numbers easily, and when
they look at it and say, the national championship game
is what the six versus the seventh seed? You know,
that's that sort of thing that that that helps the
impetus to make sure that you're talking about putting the
four highest rank teams in that deserve spot because of it.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And I understand the other side.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I mean, the big felf could say, hey, look, Arizona
in the state took Texas to double overtime and darn
hear won the football game.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
That sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
All of that stuff gets weight in, doesn't it. It
does every aspect of it. And we're still honoring those
conference champions. They're still going to be in the playoff.
But you know, if you look at any other sport
in any other bracket, the natural way for it to
proceed is to have the lower ranked seeds fight their
(04:24):
way to the top, and we wanted to be in
line with the way other sports are are sort of
lined up and formatted. And I think this was a
really good step by the commissioner.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Visiting with Rich Clark, executive director of the college Football
Playoff System, here on the Craig Wait Show on thirteen
hundred zign Now we step forward and there are people
looking beyond.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
We keep hearing the number sixteen.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
We hear five plus eleven, we hear the five plus
to nine, or this or that and all that. It
is it fair to say that the characterization of the
system right now is it's an e evolving process, and
the discussions go forward is to win. And do you
Rich believe that it's more of a question of win
(05:07):
rather than if the playoff expands.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So I will say that first, you're exactly right, this
is an evolving discussion, and the commissioners are being very
deliberate about this because what they don't want to make
a decision that we're going to revisit in two years,
you know, they want to I mean not that we couldn't,
and we could revisit in two years if you need to,
but we have time. They have time to make a decision,
(05:33):
and they're looking at everything in it.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
What are the options, I mean, the number sixteen, fourteen, twelve,
what's it going to be? I will say there's pros
and cons to every one of those numbers. You know,
there's access. With a greater number, you get more teams involved,
more opportunity, more fans that are involved throughout the season,
and that's a big thing. With a bigger number, though
(05:57):
you also have limited windows to play, you have limited
TV time, you have limited weekends. So there's pros and cons.
And then some people say, you know, you just have
too many teams in and you know, I'm less in
that camp.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I kind of like more.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I like to see because you never know when you're
gonna get that team that finds lightning in a bottle
and they go all the way. So but those are
all things that the commissioners are looking at. They're also
looking at should this be an automatic qualification where each
conference has an allotted number of teams that get in,
or should it be the as you talked about the
five plus eleven or five plus seven or five plus nine.
(06:37):
That all depends really because again there's pros and cons
to both ways, and that depends on really where the
commissioners land on this. They're all looking at it from
a perspective of their conference what's really good for their conference,
as they should because that's their job to look out
for their conference, but also to do it with the
(06:57):
greater good of college football in mind. They have to
do what's right by their conference. So in the end,
I think we're gonna come to a good decision on this.
They're gonna think through it, they're gonna get all the
information they need, and then we're gonna go forward.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
So let me ask you this, because of the fact
that there is so many discussions that are having that
you guys are always trying to have. How often are
these discussions happen? Are they buy weekly? Are they monthly?
Are they every single day? Because things come up and
then you have to have an important meeting to try
to figure out. Okay, guys, this is what's been addressed
to us. What's next?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yeah, my, you know, they talk outside of our formal meetings,
So we'll have formal meetings like leading up to this,
we were having maybe two a month, twice a month
that the whole committee was getting together, I would say on.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Average one and a half times a month.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Let's just say on average, But that doesn't count the
times that they got together individually or maybe a smaller
group of them to discuss some of the topics, so
that when we did get together as a group, they
were ed, you know, to discuss things. So they are
putting a lot of time into this to make sure
that they understand each other's perspective but also understand some
(08:09):
of the external things that are that are going to
impact well.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Interesting to bring this up.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
My final question to you is something again the commissioner
Commissioner sank he talked about when asked about dialogue that
he would have a tony petitia the Big ten and
with the Big ten and the SEC having so much
play in on this, and then also is this a
trickle down also where some of the some of the
(08:35):
byplay on how this all winds up depends on the
eight game conference schedule or the nine game conference schedule
SEC versus Big Ten.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
So that's that's interesting. I think that's kind of a
chicken or egg kind of thing. You know, it's like, well,
you know, the eight or nine. Whether they play eight
or nine a given conference depends on what the format is.
But then the format depends on whether you know, all
schools are going to play eight or nine to some
it it kind of depends on which conference you're in
(09:05):
and what's most important to you. And so I you know,
I can't say which one really comes first. But what
I'll say is that we're gonna there's gonna be the
sort of confluence of decisions that are gonna happen, and uh,
and the commissioners will, uh, they'll they'll work it out.
You know, they're gonna talk. They have to talk to
(09:26):
each other, and they do. But in the end, what
I think is really gonna happen here is probably and
and this is just me, This is just French Clark talking.
I am not telling the commissioners what to do. They're
my bosses. It's not good for your help, you do that.
Good point everybody out there. But I think that they're
(09:46):
gonna want a decision before the December deadline, which is
a sort of a contractual deadline that we have because
they have to make internal decisions before then about the
next season, So I think in the end and that's
really going to be the driver, and they're gonna get
in a room and they're gonna talk about it and
they're going to go, look, here's here's where we are,
(10:08):
here's where you are. Let's let's pull all this together
and make a decision. We have the information we need,
and then let's get it done and let me execute
violently and we'll just take it and make it happen.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
We'll leave it with this.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Since you said you were at Ohio stated a notre
name of the playoff. If Texas is back in the playoff,
can we get you to a game that Texas is
in so we can get you on the air with
us again.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Oh that'd be easy. Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I live in Dallas, Yeah, point all right, but I'll
come talk to you guys anytime. You're awesome and we
appreciate what you do for college football.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Thank you, Rich, appreciate it. Thanks for having me, all right,
you bet?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
And uh, coming up, we were gonna hear from the Commission.
We're gonna hear from Greg Sank when we continue here
on day number one. If that Secy Football media days
here after visiting with Rich Clark, executive director for the
College Football Playoff. We'll continue on the Craig Way Show.
Were on thirteen hundred The Zone
What a way to kick off our time here at
SEC Football Media Days with the executive director of the
College Football Playoff, Rich Clark, who's with us. Rich joined
us last year. I believe it was on Halloween that
you joined us.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Last year.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We talked about it's great to have you with us.
I appreciate you doing this, and I know, just as
coaches and fans and media get pretty amped up about
this when you have these signposts of this, I know
you must as well, since it's the opening of a
new folder heading into twenty twenty five and ultimately what
we'll head down the road to what you are the
(00:33):
head of the College Football Playoff.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, Craig, First, thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
I appreciate being here with you again, and I am
really excited to be at this sign post. It is
it's a marker that's really marking my second year. So
I just completed my first year and it was it
was incredible. One thing we knew, though one hundred percent
for sure, that we weren't going to get at one
(00:58):
hundred percent right. And so we've made some changes for
next year going into this coming season, and then we're
talking with the commissioners and the Management Committee as we
call them, about changes that might occur in the season
after this coming one. But it is such an honor
to be involved in this whole enterprise, and it's just exciting.
I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I'm really intrigued by something both the commissioner said and
what you just said about You knew going in it
wasn't going to be a perfect fit, and yet by
and large, I think everybody thought it came off really
really well.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
For the first time ever with the twelve teams.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
I thought it was too I mean it the first round,
those home games, those campus games spectacular. I went to
Notre Dame and Ohio State and those games were like
nothing I've ever seen, amazing. And then the quarters and
semis at the Bowls. Our bull partners did a fantastic
job putting those games on. And then right here in
(01:54):
Atlanta we had our championship games. So I couldn't have
been happier with the way the games came off. But
we did change the way that we're seating and that
was a big That's gonna be a make a big difference,
I think in the playoffs. So instead of giving the
bye to the top four conference champions, we're gonna give
a bye to the top four ranked teams. I think
(02:16):
that's a better look for the bracket and it's gonna
give us, I would say, more competitive games from the
start to the finish of the playoff. I love the
fact that you were able to make that adjustment because
of the things that happened.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Along the way.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
You know, when when all these new situations arise, you
got to be able to adjust and make the change.
And now with the playoff and the way that it's
being set up, adding more teams to it. But I
do like the fact that you guys decided, Hey, what
we're gonna do is the top ranked teams are gonna
be the ones to get seating. Well, how did y'all
come to that that mindset? Yeah, Mike, I give a
(02:53):
lot of credit to the commissioners. You know, they watched closely.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
They listened to their coaches, they listened to their athletic directors,
they listen to the fans. We all do cant help it,
but there was a lot of good feedback on that,
and we all saw it right. We could see how
the how the bracket lined up, and that I think
was I won't say it was an easy decision to
make because it's a change. Like you said, Mike, you
(03:20):
know you're doing it as you go, you're recognizing it.
But you want to make that change early, especially if
you know you're gonna do it. Don't let's not wait,
let's not delay. This is the right thing to do.
And the commissioner stepped up and did it.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
It's not also, and part of the feedback you got
was folks get hung up on numbers easily, and when
they look at it and say, the national championship game
is what the six versus the seventh seed? You know,
that's that sort of thing that that that helps the
impetus to make sure that you're talking about putting the
four highest rank teams in that deserve spot because of it.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And I understand the other side.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
I mean, the big felf could say, hey, look, Arizona
in the state took Texas to double overtime and darn
hear won the football game.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
That sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
All of that stuff gets weight in, doesn't it. It
does every aspect of it. And we're still honoring those
conference champions. They're still going to be in the playoff.
But you know, if you look at any other sport
in any other bracket, the natural way for it to
proceed is to have the lower ranked seeds fight their
(04:24):
way to the top, and we wanted to be in
line with the way other sports are are sort of
lined up and formatted. And I think this was a
really good step by the commissioner.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Visiting with Rich Clark, executive director of the college Football
Playoff System, here on the Craig Wait Show on thirteen
hundred zign Now we step forward and there are people
looking beyond.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
We keep hearing the number sixteen.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
We hear five plus eleven, we hear the five plus
to nine, or this or that and all that. It
is it fair to say that the characterization of the
system right now is it's an e evolving process, and
the discussions go forward is to win. And do you
Rich believe that it's more of a question of win
(05:07):
rather than if the playoff expands.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
So I will say that first, you're exactly right, this
is an evolving discussion, and the commissioners are being very
deliberate about this because what they don't want to make
a decision that we're going to revisit in two years,
you know, they want to I mean not that we couldn't,
and we could revisit in two years if you need to,
but we have time. They have time to make a decision,
(05:33):
and they're looking at everything in it.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
What are the options, I mean, the number sixteen, fourteen, twelve,
what's it going to be? I will say there's pros
and cons to every one of those numbers. You know,
there's access. With a greater number, you get more teams involved,
more opportunity, more fans that are involved throughout the season,
and that's a big thing. With a bigger number, though
(05:57):
you also have limited windows to play, you have limited
TV time, you have limited weekends. So there's pros and cons.
And then some people say, you know, you just have
too many teams in and you know, I'm less in
that camp.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I kind of like more.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I like to see because you never know when you're
gonna get that team that finds lightning in a bottle
and they go all the way. So but those are
all things that the commissioners are looking at. They're also
looking at should this be an automatic qualification where each
conference has an allotted number of teams that get in,
or should it be the as you talked about the
five plus eleven or five plus seven or five plus nine.
(06:37):
That all depends really because again there's pros and cons
to both ways, and that depends on really where the
commissioners land on this. They're all looking at it from
a perspective of their conference what's really good for their conference,
as they should because that's their job to look out
for their conference, but also to do it with the
(06:57):
greater good of college football in mind. They have to
do what's right by their conference. So in the end,
I think we're gonna come to a good decision on this.
They're gonna think through it, they're gonna get all the
information they need, and then we're gonna go forward.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
So let me ask you this, because of the fact
that there is so many discussions that are having that
you guys are always trying to have. How often are
these discussions happen? Are they buy weekly? Are they monthly?
Are they every single day? Because things come up and
then you have to have an important meeting to try
to figure out. Okay, guys, this is what's been addressed
to us. What's next?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yeah, my, you know, they talk outside of our formal meetings,
So we'll have formal meetings like leading up to this,
we were having maybe two a month, twice a month
that the whole committee was getting together, I would say on.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Average one and a half times a month.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Let's just say on average, But that doesn't count the
times that they got together individually or maybe a smaller
group of them to discuss some of the topics, so
that when we did get together as a group, they
were ed, you know, to discuss things. So they are
putting a lot of time into this to make sure
that they understand each other's perspective but also understand some
(08:09):
of the external things that are that are going to
impact well.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Interesting to bring this up.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
My final question to you is something again the commissioner
Commissioner sank he talked about when asked about dialogue that
he would have a tony petitia the Big ten and
with the Big ten and the SEC having so much
play in on this, and then also is this a
trickle down also where some of the some of the
(08:35):
byplay on how this all winds up depends on the
eight game conference schedule or the nine game conference schedule
SEC versus Big Ten.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
So that's that's interesting. I think that's kind of a
chicken or egg kind of thing. You know, it's like, well,
you know, the eight or nine. Whether they play eight
or nine a given conference depends on what the format is.
But then the format depends on whether you know, all
schools are going to play eight or nine to some
it it kind of depends on which conference you're in
(09:05):
and what's most important to you. And so I you know,
I can't say which one really comes first. But what
I'll say is that we're gonna there's gonna be the
sort of confluence of decisions that are gonna happen, and uh,
and the commissioners will, uh, they'll they'll work it out.
You know, they're gonna talk. They have to talk to
(09:26):
each other, and they do. But in the end, what
I think is really gonna happen here is probably and
and this is just me, This is just French Clark talking.
I am not telling the commissioners what to do. They're
my bosses. It's not good for your help, you do that.
Good point everybody out there. But I think that they're
(09:46):
gonna want a decision before the December deadline, which is
a sort of a contractual deadline that we have because
they have to make internal decisions before then about the
next season, So I think in the end and that's
really going to be the driver, and they're gonna get
in a room and they're gonna talk about it and
they're going to go, look, here's here's where we are,
(10:08):
here's where you are. Let's let's pull all this together
and make a decision. We have the information we need,
and then let's get it done and let me execute
violently and we'll just take it and make it happen.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
We'll leave it with this.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Since you said you were at Ohio stated a notre
name of the playoff. If Texas is back in the playoff,
can we get you to a game that Texas is
in so we can get you on the air with
us again.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Oh that'd be easy. Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I live in Dallas, Yeah, point all right, but I'll
come talk to you guys anytime. You're awesome and we
appreciate what you do for college football.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Thank you, Rich, appreciate it. Thanks for having me, all right,
you bet?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
And uh, coming up, we were gonna hear from the Commission.
We're gonna hear from Greg Sank when we continue here
on day number one. If that Secy Football media days
here after visiting with Rich Clark, executive director for the
College Football Playoff. We'll continue on the Craig Way Show.
Were on thirteen hundred The Zone
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