What is the SEC president proposing for the College Football Playoff?

The SEC president, Mark Keenum, is proposing to scrap the automatic bid system for the College Football Playoff and instead have the "best teams" compete for the national championship.

How does the current College Football Playoff system work?

The current College Football Playoff system includes automatic bids for the top 5 conference champions, along with at-large entrants deemed worthy of rounding out the field.

Home / Sports / SEC Chief Pushes to Scrap Automatic Bids for College Football Playoff

SEC Chief Pushes to Scrap Automatic Bids for College Football Playoff

Q: Why are experts criticizing the SEC president's proposal?

Experts argue that the automatic bid process ensures wider representation and eliminates the possibility of undefeated teams from major conferences being excluded from the title race. They cite the NCAA basketball tournament's clear selection criteria as a superior model compared to the CFP's reliance on subjective assessments.

13 Nov

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Summary

Four teams tied for first in ACC, seven still in playoff contention
SEC president wants "best teams" to play in CFP, not automatic qualifiers
Experts criticize proposal, say automatic bids ensure wider representation

SEC Chief Pushes to Scrap Automatic Bids for College Football Playoff

As of 2025-11-13T13:01:19+00:00, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is facing a complex tiebreaker situation, with four teams currently tied for first place and seven teams still legitimately in contention for the conference championship game. Meanwhile, the head of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) oversight committee, Mark Keenum, has called for scrapping the concept of automatic qualifiers for the College Football Playoff (CFP).

Keenum, who has a background in agricultural economics, argued last week on "The Paul Finebaum Show" that the "best teams ought to play" in the national championship tournament, rather than having automatic bids for conference champions. This proposal comes just a year after the CFP introduced the automatic qualifier system, which has been credited with producing the sport's first legitimate national champion, Ohio State, in 2024.

Experts have strongly criticized Keenum's suggestion, arguing that the automatic bid process ensures wider representation and eliminates the absurdity of undefeated teams from major conferences being excluded from the title race. The selection process for the NCAA basketball tournament, which uses a clear set of logical criteria, is cited as a superior model compared to the CFP's reliance on subjective assessments of the "best" teams.

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