ACC, Pac-12, Big Ten commissioners push back against College Football Playoff expansion critics

The commissioners from the ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten pushed back on Friday against any public misconception that their «Alliance» of conferences worked together to stop expansion of the College Football Playoff.

«I think that's a narrative that certain folks benefit from having out there even if it's not true,» said Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, who joined Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips on Friday in an exclusive interview with ESPN reporters.

Last Friday, the CFP announced it will remain a four-team playoff for the next four years — a decision that was made with an 8-3 vote of the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick. Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, the chair of the CFP's board of managers, publicized the vote, revealing the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 voted against the 12-team proposal.

On Aug. 24, those three leagues announced the formation of what they deemed a «historic alliance.» It has aimed to form scheduling partnerships, bring together like-minded academic institutions and at the time stabilize a landscape that was again uncertain with another round of realignment — none more drastic than Big 12 co-founders Oklahoma and Texas announcing their intent to eventually bolt to the SEC.

The past eight months, which have been filled with debates and discussions about expanding the playoff, pushed the relatively new commissioners into the spotlight again. The motion that was brought to the table for them to vote on last week didn't split playoff expansion into the current, 12-year contract, which runs through 2025, and another vote for Year 13 and beyond. Instead, it was one yes or no vote on expanding the playoff under the originally