College Football ‘could be governed outside of the NCCA’

Prominent decision-makers in college football reportedly met Monday to discuss the possibility of restructuring the sport and broached the idea of ‘major college football potentially being governed outside of the NCAA,’ according to ESPN.

The idea was reportedly only discussed for about five minutes, but it’s the first known discussion of such a plan among the College Football Playoff’s Board of Managers.

The college football postseason is not currently run by the NCAA, instead being run by the 10 FBS conferences and specifically the CFP board for those who qualify.

Most teams play in one-off bowl games, with the top four teams – as deemed by the CFP committee – entered into a playoff.

Thus, the CFP already manages some of the most significant college games each postseason, and ESPN called the CFP a ‘logical’ place for college football to be run if it breaks free from the NCAA, which was reportedly discussed on the call.

The CFP Board of Managers consists of presidents from all 10 major conferences (and Rev. John Jenkins of Notre Dame), though ESPN said there is no known plans or action imminently expected after the meeting.

Through multiple sources, the piece called the process of breaking free from the NCAA a ‘marathon.’

The current CFP contract has four seasons remaining and runs out after the 2025 season.

The CFP has existed since the 2014-15 season, with Alabama (seven appearances) and Clemson (six) the two most frequent participants.