Tony Petitti: Big Ten wants more games with CFP implications

LINK

The short story for anyone who does not want to read the whole thing is the B1G wants to maximize interest in November games and place more of its teams in the CFP.

While not mentioned in this article, the B1G wants the SEC to do the same by playing 9 league games.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- As the College Football Playoff management committee continues discussions about the future of the sport's postseason, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti wants to ensure deeper conferences have access points that maximize the stretch run of the regular season.

In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday with ESPN, Petitti said he is focused on ensuring the Big Ten, which will increase to 18 members with four West Coast additions this summer, has November schedules packed with games that carry CFP implications, like many of the professional leagues do.

"We've got some work to do to figure out what that [future model] is, because obviously, it has real impact on your regular season," Petitti told ESPN. "You want to make sure that your teams have the ability to have a breakout season and qualify. And we also have to be realistic about what should get you access, in terms of number of wins. Look, we want meaningful games late in the season.

"We want fans to think that you know a game in the second week of November, even if you've already lost two or three games, still has a lot of value. That's the goal."When you're as deep as we are, we've got to do things to make sure that we have the access to the postseason that we think we deserve and has to be earned on the field," Petitti said. "I'm a big believer in that, and that helps your regular season. More teams playing more meaningful games later in the season, I think we still can do more there."

Earlier this month, the Big Ten and SEC announced a joint advisory group to address major topics and challenges around the college sports landscape. After working with the SEC as a TV executive earlier in his career, Petitti said a more formal group made sense. Petitti visited the SEC office in Alabama shortly after being hired at the Big Ten and has maintained a consistent dialogue with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.

The advisory group will include presidents and chancellors, as well as athletic directors from the two richest and most powerful conferences.

"Both of us looking at the depth of things that were changing so quickly, how do we increase our pace of our thinking, of our strategy, to meet these challenges?" Petitti said. "We have [athletic director] groups that are really experienced, that work well together, so it became a very natural thing."

Petitti said the partnership is not intended to create an "isolation chamber" and that the two leagues are hoping to produce initiatives that benefit the entire college sports "ecosystem."

"I don't believe it puts us in an adversarial position with anybody else," he said. "It's just, we got to find some solutions here."