CFP 2025

There is no sport more magical, more ethereal, more mythical, or more simply extraordinary than college football. No sport anywhere in the globe can even seek to surpass the passion, legend, tradition, or cult-like sense of community that defines this one. College football is not just adored by dedicated fans — it is a staple of American culture itself, the very heritage of universities across the country, and a brand that transcends every conceivable division or disparity in the United States. From Husky Stadium in Washington to Death Valley in Louisiana, from ESPN College Gameday mornings to the late PAC-12 After Dark, from Bevo to Uga, from the Trojan Warrior to Touchdown Jesus: one cannot deny the grandeur, spectacle, and infectious soul of college football. However, in 2025, the sport stands at a major crossroads. While college football has progressively evolved and tactically reacted to ensure it’s maintained success within the sports landscape, modern CFB may perhaps have reached an “overload” of reform. Conference realignment has already buried the PAC-12 deep in the ground, and has essentially relegated the Big 12 and potentially the ACC to hospice care. NIL is a highly unregulated mess, with massive potential for fraud through suspect booster conglomerates, as well as undermining the player development and parity aspects of the sport (for example, Ohio State only defeated Notre Dame in the 2025 National Championship by virtue of their $20M “Death Star” NIL roster”). The transfer portal has become equally chaotic, with underclassmen often leaving schools they committed to only a year ago due to lack of playing time. Some players on the 12 2024 CFP teams even entered the portal during the postseason. And, of course, there are the usual crises that have become stereotypical of any season: the cheating scandals, the social media guffaws, warring fan bases (and recently, players) during rivalry games, the annual hoopla around rankings (no, AP Poll, Miami isn’t back), and the drama and flair of the games themselves. This committee, simulating the CFP, will be tasked with dictating the future of college football amid all these problems. What form that future takes is entirely up to you, the delegates. Will we stabilize the sport by introducing common regulations surrounding NIL and the portal? Or will we further breed CFB anarchy by, for example, introducing the trading of scholarship players? Will the CFP just override the NCAA entirely, and finally put to rest the most autocratic, incompetent, and “wet blanket” organization known to man? We will find out in November at Notre Dame!

Topic: The College Football Playoffs 2025

Chair: Adam Akan