Texas’ Chris Del Conte talks sense when he discusses football scheduling, playoff expansion.
Texas boss steers clear of cupcake scheduling. Amen.
Among Del Conte’s ideas: Eliminate conference championship games, and speed up playoff.
When Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte floated the idea of killing the SEC championship game, a crowd of Longhorns fans applauded his suggestion.
“Start the playoffs that week,” Del Conte said recently at a recent town hall.
And everyone said, amen.
Del Conte was just warming up. He uncorked several more ideas. Like, playing playoff semifinals on Jan. 1 and the national championship a week later. He also lobbied for playoff expansion, within a framework that protects the regular season’s value.
Whoa, now, this man is making too much sense. Can’t have such logical ideas within college football, can we?
“I’m one vote,” Del Conte said, “but this is where we need to get to.”
More sane talk like this, and perhaps Del Conte needs nominated for College Football Commissioner. Alas, no such position exists.
Anyway, maybe Del Conte thinks he can run the sport from his pulpit in Texas.
He’s one vote, but his voice resonates from a school accustomed to calling the shots.
Talk to someone familiar with how the old Big 12 operated, and they’ll tell you how one school — the one that wears burnt orange — controlled the levers of power.
Now comfortable in its SEC digs, Texas already has achieved one of its priorities: increasing the SEC schedule to nine games.
Texas hadn’t even joined the SEC yet when Del Conte started advocating for a nine-game conference schedule, like the Longhorns had in the Big 12. For many years, the SEC debated expanding its conference schedule, but it did nothing. Then, just more than a year after Texas joined, SEC membership voted to add a ninth conference game.
Coincidence? Maybe. But, Texas is pretty good at getting its way. Ask Texas A&M. The Aggies wanted to be the SEC’s only Texas school. Too bad, the SEC said.
Capitulating to Texas comes with a word of caution. The Big 12 feting Texas like a king contributed to the distrust and unraveling within the old iteration of that conference.
Del Conte, though, is broadly respected within his industry. His sensible ideas almost sounded like a platform for a potential College Football Commissioner.
Del Conte’s vision includes:
1. Valuing marquee nonconference games
Asked why Texas wouldn’t cancel games against Ohio State (2026) and Michigan (2027) and pursue cupcakes more conducive to a better record to seduce the playoff committee, Del Conte put it like this: Fans whose dollars support the enterprise deserve to see good games, like Ohio State-Texas, instead of a feast of creampuffs.
“We scheduled great games here to bring value to you all,” Del Conte said. “… I want our fans, Longhorn Nation, to be able to watch Ohio State in this stadium. I want fans in Longhorn Nation to be able to watch Michigan, along with our SEC slate. But, I had a lot of people say, ‘We need to cancel those games.’ No, we’re going to honor our word.”
Also, let’s be honest, TV networks want these games, and television dollars subsidize College Sports Inc.
It’s redeemable — if, perhaps, not advisable — to see Texas welcome opponents like Ohio State and Michigan at a time when schools like Penn State and Indiana are stumbling over themselves to line up the easiest possible three-pack of nonconference opponents.
Del Conte’s long-term objective appears to be to pair a marquee nonconference game with a nine-game conference schedule, plus an expanded playoff big enough to accommodate teams that repeatedly challenged themselves in tough games and lost a few times.
One could envision a College Football Commissioner, if such a position existed, demanding all Power Four teams play at least 10 power opponents to be eligible for playoff selection.
2. Week 0 becomes Week 1
In Del Conte’s view, Week 0 should become Week 1, turning Labor Day weekend into Week 2.
That’s a fine start. Why not take it a step further? Start the season in what’s now Week 0, and install a 13th-regular season game, creating more revenue and another playoff data point. I wonder what a CFB Commish might say to that.
3. Dump conference championships
Del Conte didn’t elaborate on his desire to dump the SEC championship game. No need to elaborate. Consider last season. Georgia routed Alabama for the SEC title, and neither team moved even one spot in the ensuing rankings.
“Why have a conference championship game?” Del Conte mused at his town hall.
Why, indeed?
Once revolutionary, conference championship games outlived their utility.
4. Speed up the playoff’s conclusion
Without conference championships in the way, Thanksgiving weekend rivalry games could lead into playoff selection, with playoff games beginning the first weekend in December.
“Start the playoffs that (first week of December), and let’s play every single week, and the semifinals are played on New Year’s Day… and the national championship a week later,’ Del Conte suggested. ‘That’s what I’d like to see.”
Not a bad plan — much better than concluding the season on Jan. 25, one week after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That’s what will happen next season.
5. Expand the playoff
Del Conte desires playoff expansion, although he didn’t specify the number of teams.
Is playoff expansion needed? That’s debatable. But, every power conference commissioner wants it. They just don’t agree on size and format.
Del Conte pointed out Texas’ bowl game against Michigan averaged a TV audience of 9.1 million viewers. The BYU-Georgia Tech bowl game averaged 8.7 million viewers. The way he tells it, postseason viewership numbers merit a bigger playoff.
“Viewership is there during the holidays,” Del Conte said. “No one’s doing anything. They’re sitting at home, freezing their tail off, drinking a cocktail, eating some old fruitcake. I mean, we can do this. But this is what it’s going to take: It’s going to take thoughtful leaders to look at that.”
Almost sounds like a job for a College Football Commissioner. I have one in mind. He wears a 10-gallon hat.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.