‘Why are we associated with conferences anymore?’ SEC coach questions the point of conferences in 24-team playoff

The College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams next season, and the change will also mean the end of conference championship games for the Power 4 leagues. Not everyone is on board with that decision.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz is the latest to push back. On Tuesday, Drinkwitz questioned why teams should even be affiliated with conferences anymore if they aren’t playing for conference titles, raising the idea of a more national schedule instead.

24-Team Playoff

On Monday, the CFP and ESPN agreed to a five-year deal worth nearly $1.7 billion that will expand the playoff field to 24 teams starting in 2027. The field will include 19 at-large bids, the four Power 4 conference champions, and the highest-ranked Group of 6 team.

But the Power 4 conference championship games will be eliminated, with each league expected to determine its champion through regular-season standings and tiebreakers, according to ESPN. The Army-Navy game will take over the old conference championship weekend.

The expansion has drawn plenty of criticism. Nick Saban said that “there’s not 24 teams in the country that can win the national championship,” and that he hated to see games like the SEC Championship go away.

‘Why are we associated with conferences anymore?’

During a press conference on Tuesday, Drinkwitz was asked about the elimination of conference championship games, and he had a pretty interesting response as he questioned the point of competing in a conference if it’s not for a conference championship.

“You know, I’ve thought long and hard about this conference championship question. Times are changing, so you’ve got to adjust with the times. But my question is why are we associated with conferences anymore if we’re not playing for a conference championship?” Drinkwitz said, via ESPN’s Brandon Zimmerman.

Drinkwitz suggested that conference affiliation might not mean much in the new format.

“If the point now is just to be playing into a sea of 24, are we just doing it for scheduling affiliation? If we’re just doing it for scheduling affiliation, is there a reason to be flying all the way across the country to play games from a national perspective?” Drinkwitz said.

It is worth noting, however, that there will still be conference champions in the new system; those champions will just be decided using regular-season standings and tiebreakers rather than a conference championship game at the end of the season. Still, his larger point is valid.

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