Jun. 28—CHAMPAIGN — In almost a decade as Illinois athletic director, Josh Whitman has served on an alphabet soup of committees at the Big Ten and NCAA levels.
Is he interested in adding another?
One that helps decide who is in and out of the College Football Playoff?
As the beloved Magic 8 Ball tells us: “Ask again later.”
“At some point, probably, I would be interested in doing that,” Whitman said during Thursday’s annual media roundtable at the Bielfeldt Building. “I don’t know that right now is that point. I’ve got my hands full with a few things going on here and at the NCAA. Once maybe I’ve wound down some of these other obligations, then it could be interesting to do that.”
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee includes 13 members, who cycle on and off the group.
The 2025-26 committee has three members with Big Ten ties: current Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, former Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio and former Nebraska coach Mike Riley.
Having your athletic director or former coach on the panel isn’t supposed to help a school.
If committee members are being paid by one of the schools, either as a current or former employee, they must recuse themselves from votes involving that school.
So, Nebraska AD Dannen could not vote if his school was being considered. The protocol only applies when there is a current financial arrangement between the voter and the team.
While the committee members can’t vote on their own schools — which makes great sense — you still wonder if they have a bit of influence. Imagine spending weeks with a person, then not including his or her school on the final list. Awkward.
But the integrity of the group must remain above reproach.
The committee structure already has detractors, some of whom didn’t like who got left out in 2024.
Looking at the names of the committee members past and present should give everyone confidence it is being done right. And certainly better than a list a computer would spit out.
Paying attention
In the olden times — before 2024 — Illinois was an ultra long-shot to make the four-team field. It would have likely needed a perfect regular season for Illinois to make the cut. And even that was no guarantee (just ask Florida State).
But the wise move to a 12-team field (for now) put so many more schools in play. If Indiana can make it like in 2024, then everyone has a shot.
I’ve been shouting from this space for months that Bret Bielmea’s team has a chance to be this year’s Indiana. But unlike the Hoosiers, Illinois brings back most of last year’s team, which won 10 games.
Win the games it should to finish 10-2, and that will be enough for Illinois to make the field in 2025.
Another step
In 2026, the current CFP of 12 could climb to 14 or, more likely. 16 teams.
“You’re trying to find that balance point,” Whitman said. “You certainly want to create access for schools. But on the flip side, you don’t want to dilute the tournament to such an extent that the tournament loses its excitement, its enthusiasm, its quality.”
Whitman liked what he saw the first year after CFP expansion.
“I think the 12-team tournament was an incredible success,” he said. “The idea of a 16-team tournament has a lot of intrigue. We’ll see where it ultimately lands.”
When the format is decided, it will have an impact on how teams schedule. If you are playing for 16 spots, a regular-season loss to a good program won’t be as much of a hit.
Though it wasn’t brought up, it is safe to assume Whitman agrees with his head coach, Bielema, that all teams competing for a 16-team CFP need to play nine conference games.