College Football Playoff Expansion Becoming More Likely Due to Impact of COVID-19

Ever since the creation of the College Football Playoff, there has been controversy over a limited number of teams being allowed entry -- does narrowing things down to four participants really do much more than the BCS did, after all?

Pundits and coaches of aggrieved football programs have long been pushing for an expansion of the tournament, and they may get it, albeit under terrible circumstances.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there's likely to be a financial strain on the NCAA this upcoming season. Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel interviewed numerous college athletics officials, and the belief of many is that an expansion of the CFP will help alleviate that issue. In fact, WatchStadium.com held a poll for athletic directors about this plan, and 88% of them approved it.

“People can speculate anything about this, but no one knows exactly what will happen,” said CFP executive director Bill Hancock, via Yahoo! Sports. “It’s fun for people to speculate, but no one can see the future for sure.”

It's no secret that having more important football games will result in more money for the conferences. Yet, of course, that's not the immediate priority, but rather a feverish debate set up for another day.

College sports officials confirmed to Thamel that expansion isn't their main concern at the moment, as their focus is on the financial implications surrounding their respective conferences and colleges. A decision on expansion likely won't come until months down the line. The earliest we can see more playoff games is during the 2022 season, and the college football conferences won't rake in the money from it until 2023.

Expansion was always on the table, but the NCAA has certainly been incentivized to pursue this eventuality due to the COVID-19 outbreak.