Ohio State AD Gene Smith says 'you can't ignore' persistent talk of a 16-team College Football Playoff

INDIANAPOLIS — The Big Ten Conference was one of three leagues that voted against expanding the College Football Playoff to 12 teams last year.

As part of an alliance with the ACC and Pac-12, the Big Ten's vote spoke more to the way that the expansion process was handled than the actual notion of an expanded playoff.

But as the Big Ten kicked off its conference media days on Tuesday, it still loomed as an unlikely setting for bullish chatter about College Football Playoff expansion.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told ESPN on Tuesday that the chatter around a potential 16-team College Football Playoff is growing.

«Sixteen just seems to be out there,» Smith said. «You can't ignore it.»

Smith clarified that this notion hasn't been discussed formally, but added that it has come up consistently in the discourse about the CFP. Smith is the most powerful athletic director in the Big Ten, and it's notable that OSU president Kristina M. Johnson is on the CFP's Board of Managers.

No decision on a format is imminent and could take years to decide. The current four-team format expires in four seasons, and the new one will begin in the 2026 season, which means the format will be heavily discussed the next two years.

On Tuesday, CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN: «No reasonable options will be ruled out.»

Former Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, who is the Big Ten's special advisor for football, pointed out that a 16-team playoff offers greater access. While the notion of how the access is granted will be debated, the presence of more at-large bids would clearly favor the two 16-team leagues.

The Big Ten recently added USC and UCLA, who will enter in 2024. The SEC added Oklahoma and Texas last summer,