Mississippi State president says SEC doesn't want automatic CFP bids

Jeff Hauser

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Mississippi State president says SEC doesn't want automatic CFP bids image

© Jerome Miron

Mississippi State president Mark Keenum says the SEC wants to move away from automatic bids in the College Football Playoff.

Keenum, who's also the chairman of the CFP board of managers, explained his position Friday on the Paul Finebaum Show, saying the league believes the nation’s best teams should earn postseason berths based solely on merit.

“I’m not a big fan of automatic qualifiers,” Keenum said. “I think the best teams ought to play in our nation’s national tournament to determine who our national champion is going to be and not have automatic bids. That’s the position of the Southeastern Conference.”

The CFP must decide by Dec. 1 whether to alter its structure beginning in 2026. The Big Ten and SEC hold the most influence in those discussions after securing greater control in the most recent contract negotiations.

A 16-team model, which is backed by most FBS leagues, would feature five automatic spots for conference champions and 11 at-large teams, but the Big Ten has remained firm in its support of automatic qualifiers. With that said, the SEC is on the outside looking in for this discussion. 

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has consistently favored flexibility and a merit-based approach. It's no secret college football's best overall conference wants a structure based on overall performance. 

Keenum said negotiations between Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are ongoing but acknowledged that no agreement is imminent. “We have to make a decision before the end of this month,” Keenum said. “I’m not very optimistic.”

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Editorial Team