Big 12 Media Days: Brett Yormark Firmly Backs 5+11 College Football Playoff Model

Brett Yormark sounds convicted in what he thinks is the right model for the future of the College Football Playoff.

Yormark, the Big 12’s commissioner, took to the stage at Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday morning for his annual state of the conference address. A decent portion of Yormark’s 30 minutes on stage centered on the CFP and what it will look like moving forward.

The model Yormark backs is referred to as the “5+11 model” — five conference champions automatically qualify plus 11 at-large teams for a 16-team playoff. That model would limit automatic qualifiers from leagues (notably the SEC and Big Ten), causing for teams, as Yormark put it, to earn their spot in the field.

“Speaking of the CFP, we continue to believe that the 5+11 model proposed by the Big 12 and the ACC is the right playoff format for college football,” Yormark said. “We want to earn it on the field. We do not need a professional model because we are not the NFL. We are college football, and we must act like it. There is nothing in sports like college football, and we must protect what makes it special and do what’s right for the fans and the game.”

This 5+11 model would still, for the most part, favor the SEC and Big Ten.

Looking back at the final CFP standings from last season and applying them to the model, the SEC would’ve gotten six teams into the Playoff while the Big Ten would’ve had four. The ACC would’ve garnered three entries with the three, and the Big 12 would’ve gotten only Arizona State in with the other two spots going to Notre Dame and Boise State.

Looking only at last season’s example, that model doesn’t necessarily appear the best for the Big 12. There have been other models proposed that would see the Big 12 and ACC each get two automatic bids. But Yormark noted that there is a “full audit” of the selection process taking place. And at the very least, the 5+11 model keeps the possibility of more Big 12 teams earning a spot in the dance rather than taping off spots for teams of certain conferences before seeing how the season plays out.

“We want to earn it on the field,” Yormark said. “It might not be the best solution today for the Big 12, given (automatic qualifiers), but long term, knowing the progress we’re making, the investments we’re making, it’s the right format for us. And I’m doubling down today on 5+11, and I know (ACC commissioner) Jim Phillips will and I’m sure some of the other conference commissioners will, as well.”