CLEMSON — One of the big topics at this week’s ACC Spring Meetings is whether the league is in support of a 24-team College Football Playoff or something else.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, who does not meet with the media until Wednesday morning, met with the league’s football coaches and athletic directors in a joint meeting on Tuesday. One of the items up for discussion is whether or not the league will support a 24-team CFP.
According to several reports leading up to the spring meetings at the Ritz Carlton at Amelia Island in Florida, Phillips swung his support to a 24-team playoff. It appears his coaches and athletic directors agree.
Yahoo.com’s Ross Dellenger reported the football coaches and athletic directors are standing behind their commissioner, with one person saying, “there is a consensus” and another saying, “the room isn’t split.”
Phillips is expected to officially announce the ACC’s support of a 24-team CFP when he meets with the media on Wednesday. With the league favoring a larger playoff field, it is likely the league will be in favor of eliminating its conference championship game, as part of the plan.
With the ACC and Big 12 both supporting a 24-team playoff, along with the Big Ten, it leaves the SEC as the lone Power Four Conference not in favor of a 24-team playoff. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has held strong that there are potential issues with a larger playoff field.
After last month’s CFP Spring Meetings, the SEC was still in favor of a 16-team playoff.
The American Football Coaches Association, which does not govern the sport, but does influence major NCAA Football decisions, said in a statement last week it supported an expanded CFP and it also wanted to fix the length of the college football season, which included the possibility of getting rid of conference championship games.
“I don’t love to see those things go away, but I don’t see any other path forward, because, again, you’ve got to shorten the season,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said to the State Newspaper in Columbia, S.C. from Amelia Island.
The ACC Championship Game has been in place since 2005. Clemson has been to the title game 10 times, the most by any league member in the history of the game. Their nine championships are also a championship game record.
The Tigers are 9-1 in those 10-contests, including nine straight victories. Swinney has coached Clemson in all 10 of its ACC Championship Game appearances.