Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan hears the call for College Football Playoff expansion from fans. He understands the need for college football to look forward instead of back in order to continue building a national brand.
Stokan, however, knows there’s a long process behind that expansion.
"I understand that everybody wants more of something good, but I think what we have is right now is healthy," Stokan told Sporting News. "It's healthy when you have discussions of, 'Hey I would have liked to get in' or 'Hey, I didn't get in because of this.'"
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Do not dismiss Stokan's point of view as self-interested because of the Peach Bowl, which is part of the rotation that hosts Playoff semifinals and will host No. 7 Michigan (10-2) and No. 10 Florida (9-3) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 29. Stokan said the sport emerged as a national brand with the Bowl Championship Series and continues to grow in the Playoff era.
He’s looking forward, but also has a suggestion for a move that would help make those larger discussions possible, given the self-interests of the conferences and their commissioners.
"I think we are really enjoying the golden years of college football," Stokan said. "If I had to make one suggestion, I think the enterprise of college football is at a point between fan avidity and TV contracts that it would behoove college football to have a commissioner that would look at the whole enterprise of college football holistically across the board."
A commissioner would be able to sort out the interests of the Power 5 and Group of 5 conferences that have helped fire up those eight-team debates. The Pac-12 champion hasn't made the Playoff the last two seasons. The Big Ten champion hasn't made the Playoff the last three seasons. Independent Notre Dame is in, and American Athletic Conference champion UCF, which has won 25 straight games, is out. Meanwhile, the SEC had two teams in the championship game in 2017.
The ACC and SEC play eight conference games. The Pac-12, Big Ten and Big 12 play nine. Stokan understands the point of view of every side.
"That is not to denigrate or diminish anything the commissioners or presidents are doing, but the conference commissioners' job is to do what is the best interest in its conference," Stokan said. "It's hard to do that and look at what is best for college football across the country."
In the short term, Stokan said there are a lot of other factors that must be addressed before expansion becomes a real possibility and not just a talking point.
That starts with contracts. The Peach Bowl signed an extension with the College Football Playoff committee that runs through 2025-26, and will host semifinals in 2022 and 2025. ESPN also has a 12-year contract with the College Football Playoff worth $7.3 billion.
"You have to look at the legality of the contracts, and secondly when you start to talk about expansion a few things come to mind," Stokan said. "No. 1, the presidents have said they don't want football to move into the second semester. How do you fit all that in without going into the second semester?"
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Stokan also addressed health concerns with college players
"That would probably be assistance to look into the future to find what is in the best interest of the game after the CFP contract is up," Stokan said. "Which direction do we go? That person can think strategically and talk about some issues that have a forward-looking aspect to it. To me, that's true with anything."
Stokan addressed the concerns about players adding games — especially in a climate where players prioritize their health by skipping bowl games to prepare for the NFL. Attendance also is a factor, especially for fans who would potentially have to travel to another postseason game. There is also the regular season, which would be affected both on and off the field.
"The conference commissioners' jobs are under the president's purview of their respective conference," Stokan said. "One of the key elements of their job is to provide financially a rewarding amount of money back to those schools. Most of the money comes from the regular season conference TV package. If you diminish that in any way or the conference championship game, that deletes some of that money schools get from the conference packages.
"We have the best regular season of any sports, and the playoffs started last year with our Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game with Auburn and Washington, No. 6 against No. 9. Every weekend if part of the Playoff. It's just that people don't think of it that way and look at it that way, but it is."
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Stokan also defended years in which the Peach Bowl did not host a semifinal and yet produced memorable matchups. Group of 5 schools Houston and UCF have won the bowl in the Playoff era against Florida State and Auburn, respectively.
Stokan also said not having UCF back to potentially face in-state foe Florida was out of the bowl's hands because of the rotation of Group of 5 teams and the unwritten rule of not wanting a team to repeat at the same location.
Now, the Wolverines and Gators will play a top-10 matchup. Michigan is the first Big Ten team to play in the Peach Bowl since Indiana in 1990.
"We've had eight of 10 teams that have been ranked in the top 10," Stokan said. "Any time you put teams that good on a field, they're competitive and they want to win. That's meaningful. We're going to have a sold-out atmosphere."
Stokan believes the short-term health of the four-team Playoff and New Year's Day Six is fine, but he knows the eight-team outcry isn't going to stop. The challenge is putting everybody on the same page. That took 16 years to get from the BCS to the four-team Playoff.
When that happens again, then expansion will be real. The immediate timetable is the TV contract.
As always, follow the money.
"What's in the best interest in the game five years now after the CFP contract is up. Which direction do we do?" Stokan said. "That person can think with his staff strategically and talk about the issues and have a forward-looking aspect to it then dealing with the now. That is true with anything. You want to look strategically forward together."
