ACC Notebook: Pushback Against CFP Proposal; Potential Spring Changes

In an ever-changing college football landscape, the Atlantic Coast Conference is trying to hold its weight against the top conferences in the SEC and Big 10.

The main offseason spotlight has been on the still unresolved House settlement that would usher in new revenue-sharing from schools directly to players and a proposed presidential commission tackling college sports.

However, at this week’s ACC spring meetings, another issue has been discussed: a new College Football Playoff format looming for the 2026 season.

The SEC and Big 10 are proposing a 16-team format that would give the two respective conferences four automatic bids — while the ACC and Big 12 would get two auto bids. It’s a “4-4-2-2-1” model that gives an additional automatic qualifying bid to the highest-ranked Group of Six conference champion and three at-large bids for the next best teams.

“The divide among the four leagues doesn’t exist in the number of teams,” Ross Dellenger wrote on Yahoo! Sports. “There seems to be consensus in moving from 12 to 16 starting with the 2026 playoff (the 2025 playoff is set at 12). However, the rub is with the number of automatic qualifying spots for each conference. Leaders at the Big 12 and ACC want more than just two automatic spots.”

Several coaches spoke on the topic, including Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.

“I think you should earn your way in,” Narduzzi said in the Yahoo! Sports article. “It comes down to the image of the Big Ten and SEC and where they are, and there’s a lack of respect for the ACC. I don’t like it.”

Many athletic directors and coaches in the ACC are pushing for three automatic qualifiers. Power conference commissioners are expected to meet again soon, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said Wednesday.

Could the ACC Add a Ninth Regular-Season Game?

On the men’s basketball side, the ACC just dwindled its in-conference number of games down to 18 to allow for more national scheduling. This would give teams the opportunity to add more out-of-conference matchups to build up resumes for more ACC schools to make the NCAA Tournament.

There has been some discussion on the football side regarding an increase in league games with a potential ninth regular-season conference game. The Big 10 and Big 12 both play nine conference games, and the SEC is considering the same move.

As of now, however, the ACC does not plan on adding a ninth league game, but it’s a possibility in the future, Brett McMurphy of the Action Network reported.

ACC has no plans to add a 9th league game "right now, but would be open to it in future," source said. Big Ten & Big 12 each play 9 league games & SEC is considering adding a 9th league game

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 15, 2025

Additional Spring Football

Another topic at hand was the idea of lengthening spring football, along with a move to one transfer portal window.

Dellenger reported that, “A proposal for a remade spring calendar – long expected – has been shared with coaches at ACC spring meetings, including the addition of six contactless OTA-style practices likely in May/June.”

The 15 regularly scheduled spring practices would remain, totaling 21 on-field workouts. Coaches could have flexibility on when to schedule those practices across two five-week periods in spring (February-April) and summer (late May-June).

A decision on expanding spring ball will be on hold until a new transfer portal window agreement is met.

“Any approval from an NCAA/P4 committee wouldn’t come until after a decision is made on timing of a single transfer portal window, which won’t happen until House settlement approval. Discussion on when to have the single portal is focused, for now, on January, March and April,” Dellenger said.