Exclusive: Clark Lea says college football will have to sacrifice tradition in exchange for CFP expansion

Dan Dakich tackles the controversial NCAA Tournament expansion to 76 teams, featuring unfiltered reactions from coaching legends like Tom Izzo, Mark Few, and John Calipari.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Go ahead and get used to it now: the debate over expanding the College Football Playoff to 24 teams isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Sitting inside Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea's office on Wednesday, it wasn’t hard to notice the ongoing chatter that has now once again reared its head.

Ever since CFP leaders wrapped meetings in Miami — before Indiana capped an historic season with a national championship — the battle between the SEC and the rest of college football has only intensified, with the most recent gathering taking place just outside of Dallas.

COACHES PUSH FOR 24-TEAM CFP, AS COLLEGE FOOTBALL HEADS TOWARDS PARTICIPATION TROPHY TERRITORY

At the center of it all is one question: how big should the playoff field actually be?

For months, the SEC has stood firm behind a 16-team format, a model its television partner ESPN supports. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has pushed for 24 teams — an idea that initially drew resistance from the ACC and Big 12 before opinions started to shift.

That’s nothing new. Conference commissioners changing positions is practically part of the job. But this time, the stakes are higher. With revenue-sharing challenges mounting across college athletics — and some schools already cutting sports — expanding the playoff has become a potential financial lifeline.

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Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips speaks during an NCAA college football news conference at the ACC media days in Charlotte, N.C., on July 20, 2022. (Nell Redmond/AP)

More teams mean more