Shane Beamer weighs in on idea to expand CFP, eliminate conference title games
The American Football Coaches Association board announced a proposal on Tuesday that could shake up the college football world — if the changes are eventually adopted.
The AFCA’s proposed college football calendar changes included playoff expansion and the elimination of conference championship games.
Talks about both topics have ruled the college football offseason news cycle for the last few years. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer told local reporters Wednesday at the Gamecock Club Garnet & Black Road Trip stop in Columbia that he found out about the AFCA board’s proposal a day earlier.
“We discussed that a little bit in our last head coaches meetings back in February,” Beamer said. “There really isn’t anything that we’ve discussed as head coaches within the SEC, either on a text message or in person at all since February, and then we’ve got meetings coming up in Destin here at the end of the month.
“When I read it, I found out about it like y’all did when I saw that.”
Here’s what Beamer had to say about the AFCA proposal:
On playoff expansion
The current College Football Playoff is a 12-team field. The AFCA recommends future college football playoff models “maximize the number of participants.”
The CFP was a four-team model from 2014-2023 before the 12-team model was put into effect in the 2024 season. The upcoming 2026 season will be the third iteration of the 12-team model. Each season has seen slight tweaks regarding automatic qualifiers and seeding of the 12 teams.
Conference commissioners are discussing 16- and 24-team playoff models. AFCA executive director Craig Bohl told ESPN the board doesn’t necessarily support a specific model itself, but it does support expansion.
On Wednesday, Beamer said he felt he was “indifferent” toward the talk of playoff expansion.
“We spent a lot of time in New Orleans talking about 12-team playoffs, 16-team playoff, going back to a four-team playoff, 24 teams,” Beamer said. “We talked about it all. So I’m kind of indifferent. I’m all for more access, but also don’t want to lose the impact of the regular season in any way.”
South Carolina came close to nabbing a playoff spot when the Gamecocks finished 9-4 and No. 15 in the final CFP rankings in 2024. It’s possible an expanded playoff could aid USC’s chances of making the playoff.
On the football calendar
The expanded College Football Playoff model has caused a longer season in general.
The most recent national championship game between Indiana and Miami wasn’t played until Jan. 19. In 2027, the title game will be played on Jan. 25 and in 2028 it will be played on Jan. 24.
AFCA’s board recommends the college football season be completed by the second Monday in January.
“Certainly agree with the proposal about finishing the season earlier,” Beamer said. “It’s way too long. I love college football as much as anybody, and by the time you get to the end of January, I don’t think really anybody’s paying attention at that point. We’re three weeks into the spring semester at that point.”
In order to end the season at that target date, the AFCA board recommended the following in a statement:
- Eliminate conference championship games.
- Reduce scheduled bye weeks from two to one.
- Preserve a dedicated window for the Army-Navy game, while allowing flexibility for other games to be played on that day outside the window.
- Reduce the minimum number of days between contests to no fewer than six.
In theory, expanding the College Football Playoff would make the season longer. The AFCA, however, believes it’s possible to expand the playoff and keep the season slightly shorter with the proposals listed above.
On eliminating conference championship games
The AFCA’s proposal to do away with conference championship games is the biggest eye-catcher.
Bohl told ESPN he felt conference championship games have “kind of run their course.”
Beamer, who has coached in a few different conference title games throughout his career, did not seem to share that opinion.
“I understand where people are coming from on their not having the impact that they used to have, maybe in some ways, particularly if the playoff expands, but I love the conference championship game,” Beamer said.
The SEC has had a conference championship game since 1992. Beamer was an assistant coach for South Carolina during the Gamecocks’ lone SEC title game appearance in 2010.
“It’s awesome being able to crown a champion, particularly in this league with you know what the SEC championship game means to this region and SEC fans and the city of Atlanta,” Beamer said. “[I] would be sad to see that go. Understand where people are coming from, but I need to hear more and talk to more people before I give my opinion on it.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Shane Beamer weighs in on idea to expand CFP, eliminate conference title games."
