WSU's Kirk Schulz to propose to CFP leaders that Pac-12 be treated as power conference for 'extended future'
Washington State president Kirk Schulz will formally present a proposal to College Football Playoff leaders in a meeting next week that requests the Pac-12 be treated as a power conference in both revenue and voting rights for the extended future, he told Yahoo Sports.
In an interview on Tuesday, Schulz confirmed Yahoo Sports’ Feb. 4 report of the proposal and said he’s been granted a hearing to pitch the plan to the CFP Board of Managers, of which he is a member as the Pac-12’s representative. The virtual meeting is set for Tuesday.
In the proposal, the Pac-12, which will be made up of Washington State and Oregon State after this season, is asking the CFP to guarantee the same league revenue distribution amounts and voting privileges as other power conference programs starting in 2026, the first year of a potential new CFP contract.
“We’ve been an Autonomy Five school and have resourced ourselves at that level for 25-30 years,” Schulz said. “Just because we were left standing in musical chairs, we just don’t feel that we should be relegated by no fault of our own.”
In its current revenue model, the CFP distributes about $6 million annually to those programs in power leagues. Those in the Group of Five earn about $1 million in distribution.
The Pac-12 and its two members have been guaranteed the $6 million payment for 2024 and 2025, Schulz said. However, there is no contract beyond the 2025 playoff. While the organization is finalizing an agreement for a six-year extension with partner ESPN, there remains no adopted revenue-distribution model or other framework starting in 2026 and beyond.
Schulz’s proposal is at the center of a delay in an important vote from the CFP Board of Managers, made up of presidents from the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame. Five weeks ago, at an in-person meeting at the national championship site in Houston, the Board of Managers was poised to adopt a recommendation from FBS commissioners to move from a “6+6” 12-team playoff format to a “5+7” model for 2024 and 2025. The move, in response to the Pac-12’s realignment shakeup, decreases the automatic berths tied to conference champions from six to five and increases the at-large spots from six to seven.
The vote must be unanimous, giving Schulz leverage over a significant decision as to the format over the next two years. In the interview Tuesday, Schulz shot down the idea that his vote is tied to the granting of his proposal, but he declined to reveal how he plans to vote.
“We’re not going to tie those two things together. That’s not appropriate,” he said. “There’s been some speculation that the two are tied together. That would be the place where the Pac-12 conference would not be a good colleague for college football by going, ‘We’ve given you a proposal. You better do exactly as we ask or there is going to be some penalty.’ That’s not the right stance to take.”
Schulz acknowledged that it behooves the Pac-12 to operate under a playoff format that has more at-large spots because of a policy change that commissioners adopted at a meeting in November. The change requires a conference to have at least eight members to qualify for one of the automatic qualifying spots in the expanded 12-team playoff.
The policy change was deemed as a commissioners’ issue and did not need unanimous approval from the Board of Managers.
“If you look ahead, clearly more at-large bids are going to be advantageous to the Pac-12 given that we no longer have status as an automatic qualifier,” Schulz said. “In the long run, that’s where we need to be. No doubt in our minds that, if you look at what’s best for our schools, the 5+7 and more at-large spots is clearly going to be better for the Pac-12.”
Some commissioners have expressed frustration over the delay and have even spoken out publicly. The first round of the new 12-team playoff begins in 10 months.
The 5+7 format satisfies one of the original intentions of the 12-team expansion — to give the Group of Five one automatic berth, not two as would be the case with a 6+6 model.
“It should be 5+7,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips told Yahoo Sports last week. “That’s the right thing to do.”
After presenting his proposal, Schulz is expecting a vote to transpire Tuesday in a video call with the Board of Managers. If the proposal is granted — it has received pushback — the CFP can nullify the carve-out if the Pac-12 dissolves or if Washington State and Oregon State join another league, Schulz said.
Schulz and those at Oregon State are in the process of formulating a future plan to both protect the brand of the Pac-12 and potentially rebuild the league. The Pac-12 has two years to rebuild and reach the eight-school minimum before the NCAA no longer recognizes it as an FBS conference.
The league made news on Tuesday, when it began to formally separate from commissioner George Kliavkoff by notifying the 10 outgoing Pac-12 schools of a transition in leadership. The transition is expected to be executed at a Pac-12 board meeting Friday. The Pac-12 board now only consists of Washington State and Oregon State.
The two schools and Kliavkoff have agreed to a negotiated settlement to part ways and deputy commissioner Teresa Gould is being targeted as his replacement, sources told Yahoo Spots. The Pac-12 retains a spot on both the CFP Management Committee (commissioners) and CFP Board of Managers (presidents) until the end of CFP's current contract through 2025.
SMU compromise
The Pac-12 isn’t the only entity seeking a revenue-based decision at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Managers.
Presidents are expected to vote on a recommendation from commissioners on a compromise over revenue distribution related to SMU, which begins play in the ACC next year. At first at risk of not receiving any Power Five revenue distribution from the CFP in its first two years in the ACC, SMU will see a portion of Power Five distribution, CFP executive director Bill Hancock announced last week.
As part of the compromise, SMU will get 50% of a Power Five revenue distribution unit in 2024 (estimated $2.5-$3 million) and 75% in 2025 ($3.5-4 million), according to those with knowledge of the agreement.
