CFP officials in contact with FBI over threats made after Florida State snub

HOUSTON — College Football Playoff officials have been in contact with the FBI over threats to employees and members of the CFP selection committee over Florida State being left out of the playoff, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said.

All CFP selection committee members received “profanity-laced emails and calls,” and some received threats on their homes and families, Hancock told reporters Monday from the site of the national championship. Hancock says the CFP is “totally disappointed” by accusations and vitriol from politicians in the state of Florida over FSU’s snub, including conspiracy allegations that have stoked the fires.

“It’s ridiculous,” Hancock said. “Every NCAA sports committee receives criticism from the teams left out. I’ve been doing this for 35 years now. I’ve seen it and understand it, but this one ... I haven’t seen anything like this one.”

Extra security has been assigned to CFP selection members since the final rankings were released, Hancock said.

Hancock spoke to reporters in downtown Houston, where CFP leaders — both conference commissioners and their corresponding presidents — met for several hours at their annual gathering. They made progress on multiple topics.

College Football Playoff format

CFP officials delayed a vote to adopt what’s described as a 5+7 expansion playoff model at the behest of the Pac-12. But CFP chair Mark Keenum would be “shocked,” he said, if leadership does not approve in the next two to three weeks the move from 6+6 to 5+7 for 2024.

Pac-12 president Kirk Schulz from Washington State asked to delay the vote from the CFP Board of Managers, made up of a university president from each of the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame. The vote to change formats must be unanimous — an eventually expected outcome.

A 5+7 model increases the number of at-large spots by one and decreases by one the number of automatic qualifiers — a move in response to the Pac-12’s realignment shakeup. In a 5+7 model, five automatic qualifying spots would be reserved for the highest-ranked five conference champions, and the next seven highest-ranked teams would get an at-large selection.

CFP commissioners approved the recommendation to move to 5+7 in a meeting in November with a vote from which Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff abstained.

“Out of respect for our colleagues in the Pac-12, they asked for a bit more time to consider,” Keenum said. “I thought it was a reasonable request, and I granted that.”

The CFP Board of Managers “accepted” a separate recommendation from commissioners to require a league to have eight members to be eligible for an automatic qualifying spot. The move prevents a two-team league, such as the Pac-12, from gaining an AQ.

SMU’s revenue

The CFP Board of Managers sent back down to commissioners a concept that would prevent SMU from receiving additional revenue from the CFP as a Power Five team.

The Mustangs, moving into the ACC, would normally receive the annual $6 million payout as a Power Five program starting next year. But such a move requires unanimous agreement and a recommendation from commissioners.

In a November meeting of commissioners, SMU did not garner enough support for such a recommendation. Group of Five teams receive about $1 million from the CFP annually, roughly $5 million less than those in the Power Five.

Recent precedent showed those moving from G5 to P5 got the cut, including three of the new Big 12 teams that moved from the American Athletic Conference. Yahoo Sports published a wide-ranging story about the issue on Friday.