Following the lead and desires of commissioner Brett Yormark, all 16 head football coaches in the Big 12 Conference voted in favor of 24-team College Football Playoff at the league’s spring meetings on Thursday in Frisco, Texas.
The CFP this year will remain at 12 teams, and Yormark had pushed for a 16-team playoff at these very same meetings last year, but momentum is building toward expanding to 24 teams in 2027 and beyond.
“Yeah, we kind of voted, because I think the democratic way to do it is ask everybody’s opinion,” said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, flanked in a news conference by Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire and Big 12 chief football officer Scott Draper.
“… Yeah, we voted, and it was unanimous. Every coach voted for a 24-team playoff, but who knows where that goes (from here), because it is just the coaches.”
Rodriguez lobbied for coaches to have a bigger say in all pending changes regarding the administration of college football, and not just the playoff.
“We’ve got great (athletic directors), we have got great administrations, but coaches should have more of (voice) in the decisions, right?” Rodriguez said.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake and new Utah coach Morgan Scalley also attended the meetings, which will wrap up on Friday. Two weeks ago, BYU athletic director Brian Santiago told the Deseret News that BYU was “fully supportive” of the Big 12 stance regarding expansion and “aligns perfectly” with Yormark’s wish to come off the “11+5” model, 16 teams, from the 2025 meetings.
“We certainly feel like it gives us more opportunity to be right there and compete for the national championships,” Santiago said. “If you look at it from a logical standpoint, of course we would be in favor of it. We feel like we were the first team out the last two years.
“This gives more opportunity, but the thing I love about Kalani and his direction is ‘Let’s be so good that no matter what it is, we’re not left out.’” Santiago continued. “And that’s why I love his vision. That’s our vision. We share that vision, and we’re going to keep trying to climb the mountain.”
Yormark is scheduled to speak to the media as a whole on Friday, but in an exclusive interview with Mitch Harper of KSL Sports, the commissioner said the reason he favors 24 teams over 16 is because the proposed 24-team model does not give any conferences automatic qualifiers.
The Big Ten held its spring meetings last week, and conference commissioner Tony Pettiti said that league favors a 24-team format in 2027. It prefers staying at 12 over expanding to 16.
Thursday, Draper said that if the 24-team playoff had existed last season, five Big 12 teams would have been in it, including BYU and Utah.
The Big 12 official said that the CFP made a presentation to the coaches Thursday and told them that “we were the second-ranked conference (in terms of) strength of conference, in their metrics last year, so I am confident that we will be well-represented in the 24-team playoff, and I certainly believe that these men and the others in our room will do everything they can to get a team in there, and we will do everything we can (as a league) to support that.”
Rodriguez said a 10-game conference schedule for football “was mentioned,” but that coaches didn’t discuss it at all.
“If everybody in a Power Four (conference) plays nine, we (should) play nine,” Rodriguez said. “If everybody’s going to play 10, we will play 10.”
Texas Tech really, really wants a shot at Texas
Last week, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took a shot at Texas Tech’s schedule last year — although the former BYU quarterback didn’t specifically say the Big 12 champion’s name. Sarkisian said that Texas’ twos and threes could have won the league last year.
Naturally, Tech’s McGuire was asked about those comments on Thursday, and the Red Raiders coach said he “was talking to Kalani (Sitake) earlier, because they played together at BYU” and Sitake knows Sarkisian as well as anyone.
“And I said (to Sitake), there’s no way they’re talking about us, because Sark is a pretty tough guy. His teams are really tough, and I would think that if he was talking about us, that he would call us out,” McGuire said.
“He wouldn’t just say … there’s another team in our state, and so I guess he was talking about us.”
McGuire went on to challenge Texas to play the Red Raiders in Week 1, either in Lubbock or at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the place where Tech routed BYU last December to win the Big 12 title.
He said he’s spoken to officials at both Texas State and Abilene Christian and that those schools are willing to play each other in Week 1 and let Texas and Texas Tech, respectively, buy out the contracts with them and play each other.
“I’m sure, because Texas has got a lot of money, that they can buy their contract out, but I do know there’s a lot of Red Raiders that could help them buy that contract out if they don’t want to, and they can come to Lubbock Week 1, and we can figure out if their twos and threes can win this conference,” McGuire said.
Texas Tech does not have to face BYU or Utah this season.
“We would love to play the University of Texas,” McGuire concluded.
Later, Texas Tech mega-booster Cody Campbell took to X to proclaim the Red Raiders are “upping the ante” and will pay the buyout for both the ACU and Texas State games so the Tech-Texas game can happen.
Joey McGuire says BYU should have been in CFP
Later, the Tech coach said he was a “big proponent” of BYU getting into the CFP last year, even though Tech beat the Cougars handily in both matchups.
“The last two years they have been shut out, and it has been frustrating, especially with their record (12-2) this last year and the year before (11-2), beating an ACC team (SMU) at (Dallas), and that team getting in to the playoffs. You know, I think (BYU) has been shut out (unfairly) twice.”
McGuire wasn’t finished taking shots at Texas. He noted that Texas has said it might want to get out of a series in 2028 and 2029 with Notre Dame, and that Texas Tech would love to play the Irish.
Notre Dame and BYU recently set up a series in a matter of days, with the Irish coming to Provo on Oct. 17 and BYU visiting South Bend in 2027.
McGuire said the Red Raiders’ search for nonconference P4 opponent in 2027 is “close to being finalized” and could be announced within two weeks.
Coach talks Brendan Sorsby situation, praises backup Will Hammond
Reading from prepared notes after he was asked about embattled Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who has been deemed ineligible by the NCAA because he admitted to gambling on his own team when he was at Indiana, and gambling on college football in general, McGuire said the Cincinnati transfer deserves a chance to play in 2026.
“I am proud of Brendan for getting help with his gambling addiction,” McGuire said. “We will continue to support Brendan. I have talked to him multiple times since he left the facility (and checked into rehab). … Gambling is something right now that we have seen a huge uptick in among college students, and I do not think you can separate that from college athletes.
“When Brendan sought help for his gambling addiction, he did it at a level that has never been done when it comes to college athletics.”
McGuire acknowledged that Sorsby “made a mistake” and should face the “consequences” of that mistake.
“But it is my opinion that he shouldn’t be penalized for the rest of this year or his career,” the coach continued. “When you look at what has been put out and what he’s been really honest with and transparent with, he has got a serious problem, and I think the best place to get help, and our president alluded to it, is him being at Texas Tech, and him being able to play.”
McGuire said that Tech backup Will Hammond, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was once a BYU recruiting target, is recovering well from ACL surgery and is on track to be released by team doctors for contact on August 21.
Hammond will take part in non-contact 7-on-7 drills next week, the coach said.
“We’re really fortunate to have Will Hammond. If he’s not hurt, then we’re not talking about (the Sorsby situation). … We would have been looking for, probably, a depth piece in that room, and then that money would have been allocated to other positions,” McGuire said. “But Will is in a good spot, man. I’m really lucky to have Will Hammond.
“For guys that have been around him or got to interview him, he’s one of the best humans (you’ve met), one of the most competitive, most dedicated guys. His team loves him. If you watch when he came in against Utah, you saw how the offensive line reacted when he entered that game.”