Eli Drinkwitz questions need for conferences in 24-team CFP - ESPN

One of the ripple effects of the expanded 24-team College Football Playoff, which begins at the end of the 2027 season, is the elimination of Power 4 conference championship games.

Since the announcement, two coaches from Power 4 schools have asked if playing in a conference is still necessary if the only goal is to make the 24-team CFP field.

The SEC announced Monday that the 35th SEC championship game, which will be played Dec. 5 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, will be the final one. The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 also said they will no longer play conference title games beyond this season in announcements that coincided with the expanded CFP.

The Army-Navy game will be played on what used to be conference championship game weekend in future seasons, and it will have a standalone window while CFP teams will have a weekend to rest.

«Times are changing, so you've got to adjust with the times,» Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters Tuesday. «But my question is why are we associated with conferences anymore if we're not playing for a conference championship? If the point now is just to be playing into a sea of 24, are we just doing it for scheduling affiliation? If we're just doing it for scheduling affiliation, is there a reason to be flying all the way across the country to play games from a national perspective?»

On Monday, Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert said he wasn't sure how much conference affiliation would matter in the future without title games. His Demon Deacons are in good position to play in the final ACC championship game, which will be played Dec. 5 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

«It can benefit a team like us; it can hurt a team like us,» Dickert said. «So, there's a lot of