Tony Petitti Seeks More Meaningful Games In CFP Expansion: 'Bigger Is Better'

There aren't many things I'm more passionate about than the College Football Playoff. As discussions about expanding the playoff field continue, I've drawn my line in the sand on what should be done to help preserve the greatness of our sport. 

So, I decided to meet up with Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti in New York City recently and find out where his mind is at in playoff expansion talks for the most recent episode of "Big Noon Conversations." Petitti, along with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, are among the two major power brokers in the CFP expansion discussion as several ideas have been thrown out there about expanding to 14 or 16 teams. 

Here are some highlights from my conversation with Petitti.

Parts of this interview were edited for clarity and brevity.

Klatt: As the commissioner of the Big Ten, what are your objectives for the future of the CFP and its format?

Petitti: The first thing is, it goes right back to representing the Big Ten, because that's my job. There isn't a commissioner of college football, like you pointed out. So each of us, when we get in that room, we are looking at trying to work together to come to the right solution for all of us. But ultimately, my job is to represent the 18 institutions in the Big Ten — our football, our coaches, our players, the way we do things. 

We start from a place where we're not always going to be aligned. There might be different ideas in different conferences. We have an obligation to try to come together, to work these things out. But the goal for me, right from the beginning, I really felt strongly about this, and maybe it's my experience coming from MLB, I really believe that you've got to have a postseason format that makes the regular season better. I