Heading into the second part of the college football offseason, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, who is entering his third season at the helm, will continue to make the media rounds whenever possible, and while the discussion will primarily focus on the 2026 roster, one of the more controversial changes in college sports could leak into the CFB landscape.
Last week, the NCAA officially announced that the NCAA Tournament will expand from 68 to 76, and while an ESPN source indicated that the remaining stages “are just formalities,” it’s expected that this expansion will come into fruition next season, resulting in less-than-stellar reactions from most college basketball fans who feel this is completely unnecessary.
During a recent sit-down with USA TODAY writer Blake Toppemeyer, Mike Elko warned against these types of expansions, focusing on the College Football Playoff, which has continued to flirt with a 24-team bracket and recently expanded to a 12-team structure.
For Elko, he’s well aware that some coaches believe their futures are tied to a bigger playoff field, but that likely isn’t the case, and the newly proposed elimination of conference title games would further destroy an already competitive and fair system.
“The head coach who wants to keep his job, (he’ll say) the right size is 45 teams or however many we can possibly fit in it,” Elko stated to Toppemeyer, “because (making the playoff) is becoming such a marker for the premier programs, which is, either you’re in, or you’re out. And if you’re out, you failed.”
After starting 11-0 before finishing 11-2 while making it to the CFP for the first time in program history, Elko and his 2025 roster, which included a record 10 NFL Draft selections, earned their spot in the playoffs. However, that should remain the standard to include the “best teams” that will provide competitive battles in every round.
Elko further stated that getting “too big, too fast” could ruin college football as we know it, and while college basketball can handle the expansion, a 24-team CFP would allow undeserving teams to walk into the postseason with three or more losses on a regular basis.
“You have to keep the regular season meaningful,” Elko stated. “We cannot turn this into college basketball. We’ll lose everything that college football has ever been about.”
I can safely say that Mike Elko isn’t the only big-name CFB coach who shares these opinions.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Mike Elko warns potential CFP expansion could ruin college football
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
